It's About Time
by absentminded.philosopher
Summary: Annabeth falls in battle, and Percy is devastated. He receives a prophecy from the Oracle that will give him a chance to save his best friend. When he saves her, he realizes that there is WAY more to this quest than the Oracle predicted. R&R!
1. An Angry Goddess

It's About Time Chapter 1:An Angry Goddess 

Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson. If I did, it would be as if Eris ruled the world. In other words, absolute chaos.

Comments: This is my first fan fiction. I prefer constructive criticism to servile flattery. Don't go easy on me. Show no mercy. Or feel the wrath of terrible cliffhangers!

My name is Athena. I am the goddess of wisdom, and warfare, and crafts. And at the present time, I wasn't too happy.

I was on Mount Olympus, the collaboration point of the gods. I was thinking about a most insecure development between my daughter and the son of Poseidon (cough) the idiot (cough). It didn't take being the smartest on Olympus to figure out they loved each other, though I doubt Poseidon knows.

If I wasn't all that smart, I would send all the fiercest monsters under my dominion to kill that kid Percy, but I know now that it would turn my daughter against me. I wouldn't take the risk. I had a plan, but I didn't really like it.

I was looking for Aphrodite. If anyone knew how to break them up, it was her. I met Ares, the god of war, in the hallway.

"You may be the goddess of wisdom, but I bet I can beat you now. Things have changed since the Trojan War." he commented, smiling and showing his yellow-as-sulfur smile. I was forcefully reminded of Procrustes, "The Stretcher".

"Go brush your teeth, Ares. Oh, and by the way, your hyperbole has no effect on an imposing personage such as I." I walked away in my best expression of supreme indifference, leaving Ares openmouthed.

_I'll tell that to Aphrodite, _I thought to myself. _Maybe I can get her to ditch him. What an idiot._ I had pretty much told him that his jibes wouldn't get under my skin, but it would probably take him several hours with a dictionary to find out, if he even remembered what I had said.

I was so preoccupied with my problem, when I ran into Aphrodite, I literally _ran into her._ "Aphrodite! I was looking for you. I need your help. By the way, your boyfriend is an idiot."

"I'm tired of you telling me that!" she insisted. He's not an idiot, he's just…."

"Mentally challenged?" I cut in.

"No! And besides, I don't care how smart he is, he's hot and that's all I care about." she said, sounding distant.

I mentally shook my head, amazed at Aphrodite's persistence. She and I had never gotten along since Paris gave her the golden apple a long time ago. (It's a long story. If you have time, read up on the Trojan War.)

"Well?" she snapped. "Is there something you needed me for?"

Oh yes. That.

"Yes, actually" I answered. "You know Poseidon's son Percy?"

"Yes, I know him," Aphrodite answered. "Why?"

"I need him to ditch my daughter."


	2. A TwoSided Argument

Chapter 2: A Two-Sided Agreement 

Wow. Point one for subtlety.

Aphrodite laughed. And laughed. And laughed some more. I was getting impatient, but then she finally spoke.

"Seriously, do you want me to break them up? They're such a cute couple!"

"Yes…."

"All right! I'll just want some payment. Up front, of course."

I sighed. "What do you want, exactly?"

She cackled. "I'm getting tired of Ares. I mean, he was okay, but he _lost _to a swordfight with a half-blood! I mean, how dumb is that! I need you to help me ditch him."

"There's a catch, right?" Whenever Aphrodite wanted to ditch someone, there was a catch.

"Yes, you're right! Make sure Ares doesn't find out that you're helping me. Other than that, it's fine.

"Yeah, whatever." I walked off.

Great. Now I needed a new plan. It would be easy to hide myself from Ares, as he was a MAJOR idiot. If I made Aphrodite's plan more effective, who knows? She might make an even better plan for me. I would have thought of a plan myself, but I had little experience in these affairs. I was a maiden goddess, after all.

I was walking, and I felt something go _thwack _into my back. Strangely enough, it didn't hurt at all. I reached for my back and pulled out the projectile. What I saw made me tremble in fury.

It was a heart tipped arrow. Trademark of Eros, a.k.a. Cupid.

I ran into Hephaestus. Just what I needed.

"Hephaestus?" I addressed him.

"You need something?" he answered, fire flickering in his beard. He looked strangely…handsome.

Ok, I was kidding about the handsome part. But he did know how to make stuff, which was a talent I appreciated.

I must have been staring at him, because he asked, "What exactly are you staring at?"

It's a good thing goddesses don't blush, unlike mortals, who have no control of blood rushing to their faces. I was close to doing so, closer than I ever have since…. ever.

"Aphrodite told me that she wanted to ditch Ares. Are you interested in helping?"

"Yes, of course. But why'd you help her? I thought you hated each other."

I told him what I planned to do. His face remained expressionless. "Be careful, Athena. Aphrodite is cunning in these matters, even if she isn't in others." At that, he walked away.

Just then, I heard a terrible roar somewhere on Olympus. It was Ares. It was fairly obvious what happened. Aphrodite was sure good at ditching people…

Hephaestus' POV 

Ah, finally. My wife was rid of that cheat, Ares. As for what Athena's original intentions, they will be easily satisfied. Athena was staring at me. She almost looked…moony-eyed. Weird. Maybe I can make her plan a little harder than it should be.

I grinned to myself. This was going to be fun. Aphrodite and Athena were trying to split them up. I was going to bring them back together. The other Olympians would be in ignorance, and _stay_ in ignorance.

And now, to work.


	3. Announcement

Announcement

If I get enough reviews I will post the next chapter. By the way, it will be from Percy's point of view. Apparently, Hephaestus prevails, and Athena fails. So please review! Criticize me as best as you can, and I will be grateful. I'll use your comments to improve the following chapters.


	4. It's Almost About Time

**Thanks for the reviews people! Here is the next chapter, as promised. It is a lot longer than the others, because a reviewer commented that they might be too short.**

Thanks again! Don't forget to R&R!

Chapter 3: It's (Almost) About Time 

I was having the dream I had a hundred times before. The gaping pit of Tartarus stood before me. Usually Kronos would be somewhere in that pit, laughing evilly. This time was different. This time he was…. giggling evilly. Just then, he seemed to sense my dream-presence, and immediately switched to his deep, evil-sounding laughs. Before he could make any snide comments, I was abruptly awakened.

A scream pierced the night. Before I could get out of my bed and see what was happening, a slim figure burst through my door shrieking in horror, her blond hair trailing behind her. It was my friend Annabeth.

She had only freaked out like this once before, and that was at Hephaestus' Waterland ride. I guess there was something else she mortally feared, besides spiders.

Before I could move, she had jumped into my bed and was cowering under the covers. Why mine? I tried to ask her, but she blushed and pretended to be too panicked to answer.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

She seemed beside herself with fear. "Sp-spiders."

I should have known.

I opened the door to find myself swarmed with mechanical arachnids-the same ones that had attacked us before. I could hear other members of the Athena cabin fleeing. Luckily I was by the ocean.

You're probably heard the rhyme-song "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" It was just like this, except it was an army of spiders, which were made of metal. They also bit. Hard. It was fortunate that I was Poseidon's son, and I had power over water. In the end all the spiders all got washed out, thanks to me.

There was now an army of now-defunct mechanical spiders before me. Some of the Athena cabin people came outside to see what had happened. When they saw I had wiped them out, they clapped me on the back, and shuddered at the sight of the spiders.

I went back to my cabin to check on Annabeth. There she was, still cowering on my bed. I was slightly confused at this point in time. "I washed out the spiders." I tried to break the tension. "Oh thank you!" she sounded a lot more grateful to me than she had been in a long time. She hugged me.

I was forcibly reminded of my conversation with Aphrodite. I shuddered. _What if she was right?_ I must have had some sort of disgusted look on my face, because she withdrew and blushed. She looked slightly hurt.

I immediately reverted to my normal facial expression. It seemed to help. She brightened and said, "Well, I'll see you in the morning, Percy!"

She hadn't called me "Percy" in a long time.

"Later, Seaweed Brain." _That _was the Annabeth I knew. She left the room, and unknown to me, was blushing bright crimson.

I woke up to someone yelling at me. It was Travis Stoll. "Dude, you missed breakfast!"

Oh great. I missed breakfast. Again.

I decided to take out my anger on Clarisse, who was passing by. I sprayed her with toilet water again. Sigh…that brings back good memories.

Sword fighting was my first class. Clarisse was still soaking wet and smelling of sewage when she fought me, and I wasted her. I had found a way around her new and improved electric spear. If I could just get a stream of water to connect the tip of her spear with her body…yes!

"Aargh!" Clarisse's angry voice resounded throughout the room. "You cheated!"

I just gave her my best "sucker…" smile and walked away.

Oh goody. Capture the flag was tonight. The teams were Athena, Poseidon, and Hephaestus against all the other teams. Tonight, we persuaded some of the satyrs to join in. Theoretically, Artemis was on the side of the enemy, so all the satyrs were against us. Apparently they thought they were honoring Artemis that way. The only one that came with us was Grover.

I was border patrol at the creek, as usual. No one dared pass me. I was in my element. Some Demeter guys and satyrs attacked me. The Demeter guys used vines to attack me, while the satyrs made grass grow around my feet with their reed pipes (Their music was better than Grover's, and their magic too!) to incapacitate me. I tried to repel them with water, but they just grew stronger. Figures. Water makes plants grow. Luckily I didn't need to escape. Beckendorf came running back from Zeus' Fist (or the pile of deer droppings) and deposited the other flag at our base.

As soon as the game was declared over, I strode away. I was dwelling on the dream. It was disturbing to see Kronos giggling. That image would haunt me to the end of my life…or maybe not.

At dinner Chiron cleared his throat to make an important announcement. " I am glad to report that the threat of monsters has diminished significantly. Also, the harpies have been fighting, so Mr. D and I fired them. There was an explosion of cheering at his words. No more curfews!

I ate my dinner quickly, and retreated to my home turf, the sea. I needed some time to think. At least I didn't have to worry about the harpies.

_I feel like a procrastinator. _(a word Annabeth taught me)_. I just NEED to do something about the threat of Kronos, before he destroys Western civilization, Eastern civilization, and everything in between._ I was still brooding when I heard footsteps behind me. I turned. It was Annabeth.

She sat next to me. "You're thinking about Kronos, aren't you?"

_How did she know that?_ "Yes, I am."

She smiled. "You're wondering how I knew that. I know you a lot better than you think.

Her choice of words struck me as ominous. " I had a really weird dream with Kronos in it. He was giggling. Not laughing like he usually does. He was giggling. That was disturbing."

She shuddered. " Well if it makes you feel any better…" She put her head on my shoulder. I made no move to pull her off. She meant well. And to tell you the truth, I liked it. I put my arm around her and we watched the sunset.

I felt myself falling. A torrent of memories flooded my mind.

…_She came with me on the Thrill Ride of Love to retrieve Ares' shield, muttering something about how boys always messed things up…_

…_When we were on Charon's ferryboat, she had gripped my hand tightly. I understood how she felt; she wanted reassurance that someone else was alive on this boat…_

…_She undid the necklace she wore around her neck; the one she prized so very much. She handed it to me and said "Take this then, for luck" I took it and we both blushed…_

…_She had offered to sacrifice herself to save my mom, how I had refused…_

…"_You idiot," she had commented when I regained consciousness from the pit scorpion bite. I smiled, knowing this was her way of showing affection…_

…_She had been watching me, the morning before she slayed the Laistrygonian, she had blushed when I questioned her…_

…_I had comforted her after our encounter with the Sirens, while she sobbed into my shoulder. I held her until she was comforted, she had muttered something I could not hear due to the wax in my ears…_

…_I had questioned her later about what she had said. She went red." I said thank you." I knew she was lying, I could see it in her stone-gray eyes…_

…_She had kissed me on the cheek after we won the chariot race, as she was impressed that I swallowed my pride and yelled for everyone to hear that Tyson was my brother…_

_...She had always been there for me..._

The flood of memories ended. Annabeth was shaking me. " You went out. I've been trying to wake you for the last ten minutes." Why had I passed out?

A lone figure on the sea waved to me and disappeared. I felt sick.

Aphrodite had sent the visions. Now I knew she was right all along…

I stared deep into those granite-gray eyes. I knew what she had said, after we escaped the Sirens. I bent forward.

Just then, a snide voice cut in, saying, " I hope I'm not interrupting."

I turned, expecting to see Mr. D. It wasn't Mr. D.

It was Luke.

**How'd I do? Sorry about the cliffy, I just couldn't help it. I don't know if I'm all that great at writing romance, but I tried. Percabeth, obviously. I might update in a day or two after I get a couple of reviews.**


	5. Tragedy Strikes

**Thanks again for the reviews people! Here's the new chapter. It isn't as long as the one before, because I'm not all that great at writing action scenes. Tell me if it is too sappy and or cheesy please!**

Chapter 4: Tragedy Strikes

Luke looked different. He face and skin were shriveled and white, and he looked pale and weak.

"Luke." I hissed. He was about to wreck my day. Again.

Annabeth looked like she wanted to cry. "Luke, don't."

"I'm doing the right thing! I've told you enough times; the world would be better without the gods. And you know it, Annabeth."

She didn't answer. I couldn't draw Riptide because of the small problem that I had Luke's sword, Backbiter, at my throat. I put my concentration into the ocean. The pressure kept building until…

"Aargh!" Luke shouted as the force of the water pushed him back several feet. I drew Riptide, and Annabeth drew her celestial bronze knife.

"You're dead, Luke."

He smiled. "Not a chance."

I swung Riptide at him, only to find it blocked by his longer blade. Annabeth jabbed at him with her knife at every opening, but to no avail. He was a lot stronger and faster than his pasty complexion let on.

I tried every trick I knew, feinting and stabbing in different directions, spraying water as a distraction, everything. He blocked them all. I was getting tired. I needed a new plan.

The water was behind me. I did a back flip and the water caught me, rejuvenated me. I instantly regretted it. Annabeth was defenseless. What good could a short knife do to a three-foot long sword such as Luke's?

I was right. Unfortunately. She blocked a couple of blows, but then Luke stabbed her in the side. Blood spurted out. It was a bad cut.

"No!" I cried. I sprinted to meet Luke. I moved even faster than I had before. Somehow, I had found the energy that I had fought the Minotaur, after he almost killed my mother. Both times, I was furious.

_That's it! _I thought as I fought Luke. He was blocking my attacks, but he was slowing down. _Poseidon got angry and threw "temper tantrums" sometimes. This must be some warped version of Poseidon's rage!_

I moved faster and faster, while Luke slowed down. Finally I knocked his sword out of his hands. He fell to his knees. "Please, spare me! Please!"

I looked between him and Annabeth, who was lying senseless on the sand, blood still streaming from her side.

"Sorry, Luke. You didn't spare her, I won't spare you."

"Please, please! I'll do anything!" he begged.

"Sorry, too late." I smiled grotesquely as I lopped off his head. I felt a lot worse after I did that. No wonder. I had pretty much condemned him to eternal torture in the Fields of Punishment.

I ran to Annabeth's side. The cut was worse than I thought. Blood still streamed out steadily. I picked her up and began to run toward the Big House with her in my arms. She gasped for breath. I ran faster. The Big House was meters away.

She touched my cheek. She spoke, still having trouble breathing. " Percy, I …" She seemed unable to finish her sentence. I made it into the Big House, but there was no one there. I yelled for Chiron, but no one came. It was the dead of night.

She tried again, "Percy, … Percy," She could not finish.

My knees buckled. There wasn't enough time to go and rouse anyone. I had failed. "I'm sorry." I whispered to her. "This is my fault."

She smiled. "No…"

She was in her final throes now, shaking and convulsing. I was weeping with her at my feet. She shuddered, and was still.

She opened her eyes one more time. It seemed to be causing her terrible pain to resist the call of death. She finished her sentence. "I love you."

And then she was gone.

**How is it? Sorry if this chapter is short, I'll try to make the next chapter longer.**


	6. The Prophecy of Hope

**Hi guys! Here is the new chapter. Thanks for all the reviews. Sorry if you didn't like the vs. Luke part, I'm not all that great at writing action scenes. For those who really mourned Annabeth's death, well, this chapter isn't named The Prophecy of Hope for nothing… Enjoy!**

**Chapter 5: The Prophecy of Hope**

She was gone.

I couldn't believe it. She was gone. My tears fell onto the grass, soaking the ground. Luke had mortally wounded her, and I had killed Luke. Mercilessly. I heard a clip-clopping behind me. I turned. It was Chiron. He must have heard me cry for help.

He addressed me, voice full of concern. "Percy, what's wrong?"

"She's gone." I pointed to Annabeth, and collapsed onto the hard ground.

For once I didn't dream of Kronos. I dreamt of Aphrodite. I was talking to her. _We haven't had a good tragic love story in ages! _Is that all this meant to her? A tragic love story? The dream then switched to Kronos. I was getting tired of him. He was giggling again, but stopped abruptly. He spoke:_ I sent Luke, Percy Jackson. I sent him to kill your friend. I knew you would kill him. _My anger swelled. _This was all part of Kronos' plan!_ I woke with a cry of anger.

I was laying on a firm white bed. I knew where I was. It was the Camp Half-Blood infirmary. I sat up, but a strong hand pushed me back down. "Easy, Percy. You need your rest." I blinked blearily and saw that it was Grover. His face was tearstained, too. "All the campers are mourning, but you're in no state to go see them."

"Too bad," I snarled. I pushed Grover out of the way and fled from the room. He was wearing an expression equivalent of one being clubbed on the head.

I walked for what seemed like hours. I didn't know where the funeral was. I had half a mind to ask Grover, but he might force me into bed again. I heard a faint sound of wailing and followed it.

I walked a little more and was greeted, by my surprise, none other than Artemis herself. She was crying too. She pointed me towards a clearing and left, changing into a dove.

Soon, all the half-bloods came into sight. Everyone was crying. And when I say everyone, I mean _everyone._ The girls in the Aphrodite cabin were shrieking in anguish. The Athenas had their faces hidden by their sleeves. I even saw a tear rolling down Clarisse's cheek. Chiron acknowledged me and asked, " Would you like to see her?"

"Of course," I replied, wiping my eyes.

He led me to another clearing in the forest, one I had never seen before. That surprised me, because the beach was visible. I knew almost all of the beach area.

"This is where we bury half-bloods." said Chiron solemnly. He pointed to a slab of stone. "There she is, Percy. I shall leave you to do what you wish."

He trotted off in the direction of the mourning area. I walked to the slab of stone Chiron had indicated. She lay on top, her blond hair trailing behind her. She had no signs of ever being wounded. I knew what to do. I walked to the sea, and willed it to recede. Nothing happened. I tried again. Nothing happened.

I was starting to get frustrated. A lady rose out of the sea. I recognized her. She was a Nereid. _Child of the sea,_ she spoke in my head._ Your power is not working because your mind is clouded by grief. Let me help you._ She put her hand on my shoulder and memories flashed through my mind.

_These are the same memories Aphrodite showed me!_ I realized. But unlike Aphrodite's visions, these were shown in a different light, light that made me feel a lot better. The Nereid let go of my shoulder, and disappeared into the sea.

I willed the sea to recede again. This time, it worked, leaving several green strands of seaweed behind. I collected several of them, and released the water. It crashed onto the beach with tremendous force. That felt good. I sat submerged in the water, like the naiads did when they weaved. I weaved a chain of seaweed, in memory of her. She had tried to teach me to weave once, but I wasn't very good at it. With seaweed, however, it was different. I finished it and walked back to the stone, ignoring the curious wood nymphs walking out of the trees to see what I was doing.

I tucked the seaweed chain around her neck, and willed it to stay dry. It did. "I will never forget you, Annabeth." I whispered to her. I turned and started back to the mourning area.

Thalia came to greet me. "Percy! I was looking for you!" She hugged me, almost as much trying to comfort herself as well as me. "So, are the rumors true? You killed Luke?"

"Yes," I replied. "I don't want to talk about it_." _

I walked away. I wanted to be alone.

The warm feeling that the Nereid had given me had dissipated. I closed my eyes, thinking to myself: _What do I do? What do I do?_ The thought replayed itself over and over again. I walked and walked and walked, with no idea where I was going. I felt a strange presence and stopped.

I opened my eyes to find myself standing before the Oracle. Green mist hovered around the mummified body as it hissed: _I am the Oracle, speaker of prophecies to Phoebus Apollo, slayer of the mighty Python. Approach, Seeker, and ask._

I asked the same thought that had been flying through my mind seconds before, " What do I do?"

The green mist solidified into green holographic versions of me, Thalia, Grover, and Tyson.

My green counterpart spoke first: _Do not despair, your friend's fate is not as doomed as it would seem,  
_Then Grover's spoke: _Go to the place in which death and darkness teem.  
_Then Thalia's: _Go and entreat the lord of those who have died,  
_Then Tyson's: _And do your best to not get fried._

**How was it? If you didn't like it, tell me what was wrong with it and I'll do my best to fix it. Give me time and reviews and the next chapter will be posted soon. I hope you understood the prophecy properly. If you didn't, you probably lack the comprehension to be reading this fic (no offense!)The way I thought I put it, it was fairly obvious. Thanks again for all the reviews!**


	7. And Then There Were Four

**Thanks again for those who reviewed. I love reviews! For those who didn't understand the prophecy, hopefully no one, the meaning will be revealed here. Enjoy!**

I became aware of a banging on the door. The green mist that had been swirling around me dissipated. I walked to the door and opened it, to be yelled at, "Percy! What in the name of Hades are you doing here?"

It was Thalia. I just stared. I felt like a dam of hope had burst through my chest. "The Oracle…gave me a prophecy."

"What? It's only supposed to give prophecies if you have a quest. I'll get Chiron. Just wait here." Thalia sounded agitated.

She ran from the room, leaving me to dwell on the prophecy the Oracle had given me. _Do not despair; your friend's fate is not as doomed as it would seem,_ That could only mean one thing; I could save Annabeth! The next line brought my hopes down significantly: _Go to the place in with death and darkness teem, _the meaning of that was obvious, the Underworld! _Go and entreat the lord of those who have died,_ I would have to plead before Hades…

My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of hooves on the stairs. Chiron was coming. He looked tired and wan. Thalia was next to him, panting. "Percy, the Oracle gave you a prophecy?" Chiron asked.

"Yes," I replied. "Why did it? I didn't have a quest!"

"It only could do that if you were singularly focused on your question, which as far as I know, mortals are incapable of doing. The only other circumstance is if you have a quest. What were you focusing on?

"I was thinking, 'What do I do?' over and over again. That's what I asked the Oracle." I explained.

Chiron heaved his thousand-year-old sigh. "What did the Oracle tell you?"

I recited the prophecy,

_Do not despair, your friend's fate is not as doomed as it seems,  
Go to the place, in which death and darkness teem,  
Go and entreat the lord of those who have died,  
And do your best to not get fried._

"Percy, the meaning of this prophecy is obvious. You have to go to Hades and plead for Annabeth's life. Now that you have a prophecy, I have no choice but to give you the quest. I will call an emergency camp meeting to confer with the others on this." Chiron said.

"Good, " I said, nodding. It didn't take long to gather together the camp leaders for the meeting. Travis and Connor Stoll led the Hermes cabin; Silena Beauregard led the Aphrodites, Beckendorf led the Hephaestus cabin, Thalia led the Zeus cabin, Clarisse headed the Ares cabin, and when I looked over at the place Annabeth usually would be sitting, my jaw dropped in shock.

It was Athena. She looked downright miserable. She must have seen the surprised look on my face, because she said, "I will represent the Athena cabin because they haven't elected a new leader yet."

The council began. Beckendorf spoke first, "It's too dangerous. No one has ever brought someone back up from the dead, and you're already on Hades' bad side. "

"I will go and nothing will stop me." I said firmly.

"In that case, " said Athena, "You'd better go in winter. You'll have a better chance of saving my daughter in winter."

_We were talking about her daughter's life and all she cares about the seasons?_ I thought angrily. "Why?" I asked, restraining my indignation.

"Because then Queen Persephone will be there, giving you a better chance." Athena calmly stated.

She was right. As usual. "All right, is there anything else anyone wants to comment on?" I asked the group.

This time, Travis Stoll offered, "Who is going with you on this quest"

"Thalia and Grover are going. A trio will work. Will you two come with me?" Thalia and Grover quickly consented.

Just then, the door burst open, revealing none other than my half-brother Tyson. He immediately grabbed Grover and I in a bone-crushing hug, and then pointed to Thalia. "Who is this?" he said in his rough voice.

"This is Thalia, the daughter of Zeus." I told him. "The Fleece purged her essence from the tree."

He walked over to her and shook her hand, hard. Thalia winced. "Daddy told me what happened," he said, sobering immediately. "Can I come with you?"

Thalia looked daggers at me. Her eyes were telling me, _No! No! NO!_ "Of course he can come," I said. Tyson nodded. Thalia gave me one of her "ten out of ten" evil looks. There was something else in her eyes. It was pain.

"All right, it's settled," Chiron said. "Percy, Thalia, Grover, and Tyson will be going to plead for Annabeth's life to Hades." When he said that, I truly realized how monumental this was. Hades had never let anyone dead to escape his kingdom.

"This meeting is adjourned." Chiron said. We all dispersed, but Thalia came to me. She was furious.

"He's a Cyclops, Percy! A Cyclops! They're not to be trusted. The whole reason I was turned into a tree was because of a Cyclops." She started to explain, but I cut her off.

"I know already. Besides, Tyson is different. We never would've gotten the Golden Fleece or rescued Grover if it weren't for him. He's loyal to me, Thalia."

Her anger softened a degree. "All right, but I have a feeling that you'll regret this."

We walked together toward the cabins. Thalia asked, "What were Annabeth's last words?"

I froze. "I have a feeling that she wouldn't want me telling anyone that. "

"Ah," she said. "I'll just ask Grover, and then tell everyone else."

"All right, all right. She said…, " I stopped myself. "She said something that if she were alive, she'd kill me if I told anyone."

"But she's not alive," Thalia said quietly. "You can trust me."

"When are you going back to the Hunters?" I asked, trying to change the subject.

"The day after tomorrow, but that's besides the point. " She was starting to get angry.

I hesitated. "She said that…"

Silena caught up with us. Thank the gods. She asked, "What are you two talking about? Something _romantic _possibly?" That's it. Now I wanted to kill Silena.

"No, " I said unconvincingly. "I was just heading for my cabin. " I quickly broke into a run and got to my cabin. I rushed in and locked the door. _Could I trust her?_ I thought to myself. I didn't know. I fell asleep on that cheery thought.

The next morning, I saw Thalia at breakfast, which consisted of nymph prepared bacon and scrambled eggs. She was wearing an obviously false happy expression and ate without talking to anyone. I scraped a few rashers of bacon into the fire and dedicated it to Poseidon. After breakfast, Thalia followed me. I tried to lose her, but she was fast. I guess being in the Hunters of Artemis does that to you.

"What-did-she-say?" Thalia asked me, hissing like an angry goose.

I could tell that she would run me through with her electric spear and hang me from a tree if I didn't tell her. A regular person would've dropped it already, but this is Thalia I'm talking about. Even so, it must have meant a lot to her.

"She said to take care." I said, hoping that she wouldn't see through my bluff.

She laughed humorlessly. "You're a terrible liar, Perseus Jackson. She grabbed hold of my shoulders, hard. "TELL ME!"

"All right, all right." I gave up. I closed my eyes, trying to block images of Annabeth yelling at me. "She said that she loved me."

The pressure on my shoulders loosened. Thalia was speechless. Or at least I think she was, because my eyes were still closed. I opened my eyes.

Thalia had fainted.

**Did you like it? Reviewers, get ready to vote; do you want another chapter at camp half-blood or do you want me to time-skip to wintertime so they can do the quest? the votes will be best of five. once one idea has three votes then I'll start writing the chapter.**


	8. The First Snowflake

**Hi everyone! I didn't get enough votes to make a decision like I had planned, but there were more votes for another chapter at camp than to skip to wintertime. If you thought Luke was OOC in chapter 4, it will be more or less fixed here. Now to have some fun…**

Thalia had fainted.

A couple of witnesses and I carried her to the infirmary, where Chiron was waiting. " What happened to her?" he asked.

"I don't know, my eyes were closed when she fell," I desperately lied. I had been closing my eyes, but I knew why she had fainted. I had dropped a bombshell, more or less.

"Ugh," Thalia grunted as she slowly opened her eyes. "Who hit me?"

What? I thought she fainted because I told her Annabeth's last words!

"I didn't see, " I said quickly. "My eyes were closed."

She got up from the white bed I had been on so many times. "I'm all right. I'll just go with Percy." Thalia grabbed my arm and dragged me out the door. "Percy, no one hit me. I just needed an excuse to cover up for you. Don't expect it to happen again." We walked some more, towards the cabins, my feet crushing grass beneath me.

Thalia spoke again, "I was just, like, really surprised, you know? I knew that she liked you, but I never thought she'd bring herself to tell you."

A horrible thought sprang up in my mind. "Who else knows, besides Grover and possibly the satyrs?"

She stopped abruptly. "Everyone does, Percy. Everyone knew but you."

"Why didn't anyone tell me?" I asked, restraining my anger and indignation.

"Probably because Annabeth would kill them. How dumb can you get, Seaweed Brain?" she commented.

That's it. Only Annabeth had the right to call me a Seaweed Brain without me getting angry. She had earned my respect. And she was dead. _Not forever, _I silently pleaded to myself, _not forever._

I aimed a punch at Thalia's forehead. She dodged easily and belted me in the gut. _Wow, she's stronger than she was before. I guess it's being in the Hunters that gave her this. Too bad none of the gods will start a male "Hunters" club._

"Bring it on, "she said.

Now I was even angrier. "I liked you better as a tree."

Before long I was on the ground and she stood above me. She walked away and muttered to herself, "Artemis was right. Boys are pathetic. "

I didn't even have the nerve to call out, "I heard that!" I hobbled back to my cabin in embarrassment. I met Tyson there.

"What happened to you?" he asked.

"I got beat up. By Thalia." I said.

"Thalia? The daughter of Zeus?" He had his eyebrow (he had only one eye) slightly raised, as if he was ridiculing me. "You got beat up by a girl?"

"Not just any girl, " I retorted angrily. Then I realized how awkward that sounded. I fell silent. "She's a Hunter of Artemis. "

"Hunter?" he asked. "Whatsthat?"

"Hunters are girls who have sworn themselves to Artemis and pledged against love. Only girls." I sounded bitter, even to myself. I thought of Annabeth. As soon as I did, the bitterness in my voice vanished. Even if there was a male Hunters group, I could never join.

"Ah." Tyson said.

I was just about to say something else, but then I remembered. Today was Friday. Capture the flag tonight!

I mentioned this to Tyson. "Good! What do you do?" he asked. He had never played a game of capture the flag.

"Um, well, you capture the flag. Without maiming or killing anyone. "I said without prelude.

The door burst open. It was Thalia. "Look, I'm sorry, all right?" she said quickly. "I'm leaving with Artemis and the Hunters tonight, and I just wanted you to know." She gave Tyson a hard look, and slammed the door shut.

Things went uphill after that. The teams for capture the flag were Athena, Poseidon, Hermes, and Zeus against everyone else. Some Demeter guys ambushed me, again, and I was once again stymied by the vines. Tyson, however, had no trouble with them. By the time they got back to their base we had already taken the flag, the Demeters were heavily bruised and sore. Thalia had a nasty cut on her cheek. She stood on top of Half-Blood Hill, and called lightning down to strike her. She healed instantly.

Things passed in the same uneventful matter for a several weeks. Over the long period between summer and winter I almost forgot about my quest, but every time I passed a member of the Athena cabin, I would be painfully reminded of Annabeth, her long blonde hair and beautiful gray eyes…

Thalia and I were walking in the forest, the dead leaves crunching underfoot. It was already autumn. Neither of us had been able to dispel the terrible memory of Annabeth's death. "How did Luke die?" Thalia asked me. Now _that _I had forgotten about.

"He died begging for mercy," I said dispassionately. I didn't hate him any less now that he was dead.

Thalia grimaced. "He wouldn't beg for mercy," she insisted. "He just wouldn't do that. It's not in his character. " She sounded like she was trying to persuade herself, as well as me.

"I know what Annabeth would say," I said quietly. She fell silent. "She would say that Kronos had perverted him. You saw, on Mount Tam, that his body is decaying from all the time with Kronos. I guess his influence has begun to touch Luke's mind, now, as well."

"And besides," I continued slyly. "How would you assume you knew him so well?"

She blushed and muttered something about liking him a lot. I could tell that I had gotten to her.

"Well," she said bitterly. "Your explanation sounds worthy of Athena."

I turned away, tears burning my eyes. She knew how to get to me, too. I walked off, pain still blossoming in my heart.

As I walked back to my cabin, Chiron intercepted me and told me that we would begin preparing for our quest once the first flake of snow fell to the ground. I had to point out that Camp Half-Blood never had any precipitation, except for that time when Zeus was mad at me. Chiron said he'd ask Mr. D to let in the first snowflake.

It soon became frigid and cold. The capture the flag games were now played with everyone wearing heavy jackets, and the Demeters came to almost useless. Their vines shriveled and died whenever they tried to summon them. I, on the other hand, was even more powerful. My power could melt the ice and douse people with water cold enough to cause hypothermia.

I was shivering outside, just finishing a bout with Thalia. I had won, barely. I was striding toward my cabin when I saw something white in front of me. I grabbed for it, thinking it was a spore. It never occurred to me that it was too cold for fungi to grow.

I caught it and tried to examine it, but the white particle had disappeared. I noticed a drop of water on my finger.

The first snowflake.

**How was it? I know I didn't put much of Tyson in here; I just am better at writing with Thalia than with Tyson. I also tried to fix Luke being out of character, as some reviewers commented on. The next chapter, obviously, will be about the quest. With time and reviews, I will be able to post it. Thanks again for all the reviews!**


	9. Another One?

**Thanks for all the reviews. This chapter is about the preparations before the quest. You might be surprised…**

It was time to pack. The first snowflake had fallen at Camp Half-Blood, and we were getting ready for our quest. I went to Chiron with the good news.

"That's great!" he said. "I'll go tell Thalia and Grover, you can get Tyson."

I went looking for Tyson. I found him in the Hephaestus cabin, talking to Beckendorf. From what I was hearing, he was actually giving Beckendorf tips! And I had thought that Beckendorf was the greatest smith I knew besides Hephaestus himself!

I silently berated myself for eavesdropping. I beckoned to Tyson and led him out of the room, with Beckendorf wearing a rare smile. He was going to try something.

"Tyson," I said. "The first snowflake has fallen. It is time to get ready."

"Get ready for what?" He had forgotten, which I could never do. The pain of losing Annabeth would stay in my heart until I rescued her.

"We're going to save Annabeth, remember? I reminded him. I tried to be optimistic by telling him that, instead of "We're going to Hades to plead for Annabeth's life, remember?" It sounded much more possible.

"Oh yes. That." Tyson said, frowning. "I just remembered! I made you this." All the sadness vanished from his face. Wish I could do that.

He held out another watch. "It's a new shield," he said. "And there's more to it than the other one." He held it out and hit the button, expanding the shield. "Hit it with Riptide."

I uncapped Riptide uncertainly. "Are you sure about this?" I asked him.

He grinned. "Just hit it as hard as you can."

I brought the sword whistling down toward the shield and felt an unexpected resistance. Before I could think, the sword had flipped over in my hands and the hilt had hit the shield, making a deep _clang_. The problem was, the sharp tip of the sword was inches from my chest.

Tyson laughed hysterically. "All right," I said, annoyed. "What did you do to the shield?"

"I put a," he wiped tears of laughter from his eyes. "I put a magnetic repulse on the shield."

"All right," Usually it was Tyson who was clueless, but that flipped over just like my sword. "What is a magnetic repulse?"

"I built the shield so it would repel celestial bronze. That feature can be turned on and off by pressing this button." He pointed to a smaller button. "Even better, it gives you an edge in battle because it repels your sword, giving it more force and speed in slices and stabs."

I was speechless. This shield was probably worth several thousand drachmas, if I cared to sell it. I didn't. "Tyson, how can I thank you?"

He smiled. "You already have. And one more thing about the watch. It will always return to your wrist, as Riptide always returns to your pocket."

_What the heck?_ I decided to try it out. On none other than Clarisse. This would be fun. Sword fighting class came slowly, but when it did, I was grinning from ear to ear.

She noticed. "What's up, Prissy?" she asked obnoxiously.

I grinned even wider. "You'll see once I bash you to Tartarus."

She was angry now. "Bring it on, Prissy." She drew her celestial bronze sword. I drew Riptide. Now to have some fun…

I opened the shield, which spiraled out like an old-fashioned camera. Clarisse looked mildly impressed, but held her ground. I turned on the magnetic repulse.

I initiated the duel, with a quick slash downward at Clarisse's shoulder. The repulse made it faster. Clarisse just barely blocked it with a sideways thrust with her own sword.

She counterattacked, slamming her sword downward at me. I lifted the shield and repelled the sword with it. Within half a second Clarisse had her own sword at her throat. I also put mine to her throat and said, "Ha. Don't boast to the better swordsman. You must hate yourself a lot to put your own sword to your throat."

Her eyes blazed with hatred. Of course, I didn't care. As always. I walked away in cold indifference to her cursing under her breath, vowing to get revenge.

I sat on Half-Blood Hill, watching the sunset. It reminded me of my last night with Annabeth. I blinked. There was a dark figure standing about fifty yards away, and walking towards me.

As he got closer, I saw that he had olive skin and dark hair. His complexion was inhuman, as was Luke's as he turned to Kronos. At about ten yards I recognized an old friend.

Nico Di Angelo.

His eyes burned with anger when he saw me. He walked faster until he was feet from me. "Nico, where have you been?"

He said nothing. Instead he drew a strange sword, one I recognized in its silver-and-gold glow. Backbiter.

"How'd you come by Luke's sword?" I asked him, trying to keep him on friendly terms.

It didn't work. "It's my inheritance. Kronos gave it to me, and fit it for me. You killed the original owner of this blade, so it would be fitting if this blade would kill you."

"Nico, Bianca's death wasn't my fault! She sacrificed herself to save all of us!" I pleaded with him urgently.

Nico's face became unrecognizable with rage. I instantly drew Riptide and opened the shield. I hit the magnetic repulse button without thinking. He charged with a savage war cry.

He had become stronger, as well. His first blow came flying down my right. I pulled the shield up, but realized too late, _the shield repels celestial bronze! Not steel!_ Nico struck the shield with the steel end. The shield dented, and my arm was thrown back.

Something strange was happening to Backbiter. Nico seemed to realize that my shield repelled celestial bronze, and only attacked with the steel edge. Every time he did, the sword got a little wider. Nico was soon panting. The sword was becoming heavier, too. Too heavy for Nico.

Suddenly, I heard a clashing noise and the two welded swords split apart. We both stared in disbelief. Nico picked up the steel one and attacked furiously. I was slowing down…

I tried every trick I knew, feinting and slashing, then stabbing and slicing, but Nico blocked them all. It seemed that now he was an even better swordsman than Luke. He knocked the shield off my arm. I heard a small crack. My arm had broken with it.

Pain raced up my right arm as I furiously blocked with my left. I couldn't keep this up forever. Suddenly, faster than I could see, Nico's sword winked out and struck my left hand. I dropped Riptide.

Nico had his sword at my throat. "And now," he gestured. "You die."

A voice cut through the night. "Nico, stop!" I knew that voice….

I turned. So did Nico. Nico dropped his sword and ran to embrace the stranger.

Bianca Di Angelo.

A bit too overdramatic maybe? I've only read TC once, so I don't have Nico's personality down very well. How did I do? R&R please! 


	10. I Fall To My Death, Again

**Hi everybody! Thanks for all reviewing I appreciate it! This chapter might not be as good as the others, but I tried. **

"Bianca! I thought you were gone!" Nico cried as he ran to embrace his sister. I was thinking to myself the exact same thing. Bianca looked ragged and wan, as if she had walked from the junkyard of the gods to Camp Half-Blood, fending off monsters all the while.

"The prophecy said I would be lost. Not necessarily dead." She said in a manner of explanation, to Nico. Then she noticed me. She smiled at me and continued talking to Nico. "If it weren't for Percy, the whole company of five sent to rescue Artemis would have been destroyed by a defective Talos." She said to Nico.

"Talos?" Nico's eyes went wide. "You mean Hephaestus' giant robot?"

"Yes," she said. "Percy found the weak spot."

By now I had walked up to her. "Bianca, how'd you survive? I thought you'd be crushed and/or suffocated in the rubble!"

She smiled warmly. "I was."

_Huh? _My mouth dropped open.

"Hades gave me a second chance, considering that I'm his daughter." Now it was Nico's mouth that fell open.

"Wh-what? We're Hades' kids?" Nico stammered.

I cut in. "Hades let you come back? I've never seen that side of him."

"Yes, I was lucky," she said impatiently. "Persephone was there, and persuaded him to give me another chance."

_Hades cut her some slack! Maybe, just maybe he'll do the same for me!_

"Yes, we're Hades' children." Bianca said to Nico, as if I had never interrupted. "And what's more, I have this." She held out a plastic figure that I recognized, the one I had tried to present to Nico before, but failed.

A plastic replica of Hades. Tears welled in Nico's eyes as he took it and stuffed it into his pocket. "Bianca, I'm sorry."

She raised her eyebrows. "Sorry? For what?"

"I joined Kronos," he said. "And I was this close to just killing Percy."

"Now I see my mistake," he continued. "It wasn't Percy's fault after all."

He adopted an expression of concentration, and a rift appeared in the ground. He tossed the two halves of Backbiter into the rift, and with a wave of his hand, closed the rift. Instantly the features Kronos' presence had given him vanished.

"Percy! What happened?" A voice cried out in the distance. It was Thalia. She did a double take when she saw Bianca. "Bianca! How-?"

"I'll explain," she said tiredly. She and Thalia walked off in deep conversation, leaving Nico and I alone.

"Well…" he began awkwardly.

"Don't worry about it." I said gruffly, and headed for my cabin. Once I was there, I splashed some water on my right arm. It began to knit. I lay on my bed, exhausted. As soon as I did, I slid into sleep.

I had weird dreams. As always. This time, I was dreaming of an invisible person typing. I leaned closer to see what he was writing. It was a story of Annabeth and I. Apparently she had inadvertently crawled into my bed. Aphrodite was watching us on her TV. Athena saw and beat the crap out of her. I woke with a start, missing Annabeth even more than before.

It was morning already. "Get up," Thalia snapped. She was standing over me. "Everybody's talking about how you fought Nico and that Bianca showed up. I Iris-messaged Artemis to tell her about Bianca."

I crawled out of bed, immediately stepping on my pack. _Ouch._ We were all ready to leave on our quest, but Bianca's arrival delayed us slightly. I walked to the pavilion and we began to eat. Nico sat at my table, since there was no Hades table.

I saw Nico eyeing Silena Beauregard with interest. She noticed.

I grimaced. This wasn't going to end well.

I tossed a bit of food into the fire, murmured "Poseidon" and resumed eating. Chiron walked up to me, saying, "You and your company will be leaving after Artemis picks up Bianca from camp. We will not be playing our customary game of capture the flag with the Hunters, because they're not coming."

A couple of halfhearted cheers rose from the people who had heard. No one could beat the Hunters. I finished my dinner hastily and went to the beach. I paced before the calm sea, thinking about the quest.

_I need to save her, _I thought. _Life is pointless without her…_

"Oh, I wouldn't go that far," A female voice said behind me. It was Artemis. "So, Bianca's back?"

"Oh yes," I said. "Hades gave her a second chance."

She nodded, and walked away. I sat at the sea for a few more minutes, and then headed back to camp.

Artemis was talking to Chiron. I couldn't hear what they were saying, but I knew that they were talking about, Bianca.

Artemis finished her conversation with Chiron and walked into the woods and disappeared. I guess she had already taken Bianca to the Hunters.

Chiron came to me. "You will be leaving on your quest today. I suggest you tell the members of your group."

I did as he said, and gathered together Thalia, Tyson, and Grover. I told them how much it meant to me that we would rescue Annabeth, and for once I didn't notice the tears running down my cheeks. They probably did, though.

Night came on quickly. I readied my pack, as did the rest of the group. I noticed that Thalia had packed her iPod. "Of all the necessary things you could've packed, you brought an iPod?" I asked her.

She retorted, "Hey, it's light. What if we get bored?"

I decided not to answer that. I had only one thing on my mind as Thalia, Tyson, Grover, and I walked up Half-Blood Hill. Annabeth was gone. But there was hope.

We took a taxi to the airport, and strode over to the clerk. "I need to get to Los Angeles, fast."

The clerk replied skeptically, "You have money to pay for it?"

I showed her the copious amount of money I held. She said, "Fastest trip to L. A. leaves in fifteen minutes. "She took the money out of my hand, measured out an amount, and handed it back to me.

We ran to the terminal to find that we were just in time. I boarded the plane with a sense of uneasiness. Zeus wouldn't blast me out of the sky, would he? I had his daughter with me!

Thalia was even worse than I was. She sat in the seat next to me, her knuckles white from clenching the armrests. "Don't worry about it. Zeus is your father. He won't let you fall from a plane!"

"Shut…up." She said. Apparently I had scared her even more. The plane took off with a jolt. The next time Thalia opened her eyes, we were cruising above the black clouds. _Wait, black clouds?_ Lightning began to flash around us, but Thalia and me were the only ones who seemed to notice it. Grover and Tyson were asleep. The other passengers didn't notice, either.

A bolt of jagged lightning struck the left wing, the one I was sitting right next to. Thalia screamed. I didn't blame her. I closed my eyes, waiting for the crash. Nothing happened.

I couldn't help it. I opened my eyes. A hole had been blown in the plane, and the air pressure was sucking us out. Curiously, only our company was the only ones who the air pressure was sucking out.

Grover had awoken, and was yelling something I couldn't hear. Tyson was still asleep. Everyone else acted as if we were still gliding above white, peaceful clouds. _Mist,_ I thought. _This was a god's doing. _I closed my eyes again. We were going to die.

I felt a falling sensation in my stomach. I opened my eyes again. Me, Thalia, Grover, and Tyson were falling from fifteen hundred feet. Tyson was still asleep. Thalia was screaming her head off. I couldn't hear what Grover was saying due to the rush of air accompanying us.

We were doomed.

**Hahahahaha! I love cliffies! Reviews I appreciate. Ideas are welcome. Feel free to complain about my cliffies, because I will read your complaints. Too bad I won't particularly listen to them…By the way, the dream is a reference to my oneshot, Aphrodite's dream come true.**


	11. Not Again!

**This chapter may be fairly boring at the beginning, but at the end you'll (probably) be begging for the next chapter. Another cliffie, of course. I love to torment you readers…**

**Disclaimer: I am not Rick Riordan. Or am I?  
****(Okay, I was kidding. I am NOT Rick Riordan. For anyone who thought I was, shame on you.)**

I was falling to my death, again. Thalia was screaming, Grover was yelling, I was silent, and Tyson was still asleep. I was stunned. _What in Hades is Zeus thinking? He just blasted his daughter, and me to our deaths!_ I couldn't think much probably because we were falling at about ten million miles per hour.

Ok, maybe not that much.

I couldn't see what was below us, but I had a sickening feeling that I'd end up speared on the antenna of the Sears Tower or something. Zeus didn't leave loose ends (usually).

It came into view. It was a really, really big lake. Thank the gods. I prayed to Poseidon. _Father, help me!_ A huge hand-like thing burst out of the water, taking Thalia, Tyson, Grover, and me in its wet grip. Thalia shuddered. She hated water.

We landed lightly on the lake. Thalia immediately started flailing and began to sink. Grover was desperately treading water, and Tyson had woken up. He was swimming easily, like me, but he looked confused. I would explain later.

I went under to get Thalia. I saw her still flailing, bubbles flying from her mouth. I grabbed her by the arm and willed the bubbles to come to us. The bubbles came…but they weren't strong enough. They popped as soon as they reached us. I was desperate. _The air!_ I thought. I brought water up so it enveloped the air, creating huge bubbles. I drew the bubbles toward Thalia and myself, and this time the bubble held.

Thalia glared at me. "What were you thinking?" she yelled. "I could've got back up myself!"

I chose not to answer that. I willed the currents to rise to the surface. The bubble popped as soon as it came into contact with the air. Grover eyed me with an air of being about to burst out laughing.

I looked down at my arm. It was still intertwined with Thalia's. I hastily pulled it away. Thalia seemed not to notice.

We swam back to shore, which was fortunately close by. I helped the others with currents of water pushing at their backs. We climbed up gingerly, and Grover puffed a few notes on his reed pipes.

"Where the heck are we?" I asked him.

"Just south of Lake Erie." He gestured towards the humongous lake.

"How did you know that?" I asked him, amazed.

"It's one of those 'find path' songs," he said. "I perfected it over the fall."

I nodded, and turned to Tyson. He was still confused. "We fell from the plane." I told him.

He said, "We fell from a plane? Into the water?"

"Yes," I told him. "We did."

Thalia was outraged. "Why did Zeus just try to strike me out of the sky? I mean, seriously, I'm his daughter!"

I said nothing to this ominous pronouncement. She was right. Zeus was trying to kill us. _What if Luke was right?_ No, he couldn't be right. It wasn't possible.

"Luke was right," she raged on. "The gods have betrayed us."

Ok, that was going too far. "That's ridiculous!"

She turned her intense eyes on me. "How else are you supposed to explain this? A random gathering of electrons?"

I had no idea what she was talking about. I guess that was the scientific explanation of lightning. "Maybe Zeus got drunk and he-"

Thunder rumbled across the now-clear sky. "O-okay, forget I said anything."

"We need to find shelter," Thalia said.

"Well, duh." I rolled my eyes. "We can just stay here for the night. We have some food in our packs and water from the lake."

"All right," Thalia didn't seem too happy about it. "How are we going to get to L.A.?"

I had almost forgotten about the quest. Almost. Annabeth's last words rang in my head: _I love you._ I could never forget that, ever.

"We'll worry about that tomorrow." I said, stretching out on the ground. "Now all I need is some sleep."

Grover and Tyson nodded assent. Thalia didn't seem too happy about it, but she lay down as well. Now I could sleep…

The first thing I heard was Kronos. This time, however, he wasn't giggling. He was cursing angrily in some obscure language that I didn't recognize. I didn't even know if he was cursing or not, but his tone made it pretty obvious.

"Stupid good-for-nothing son! He saved the boy and his friends from total annihilation! What kind of respect for his father is that?" Kronos cursed, switching to Ancient Greek. "He deserves to be drowned in the River Styx! Wait… he can't drown!"

He seemed to have ditched his air of eeriness. Apparently he was very volatile whenever he wasn't trying to manipulate someone. He continued cursing to himself until another older sounding voice said, "Hey Kronos, little bro, shut up!" I wonder who that was…

I woke to a bright morning. Apollo was just starting his daily routine across the sky. Grover was preparing breakfast. He was playing his reed pipes, and for some reason, the oak trees began to sprout pomegranates. Weird.

Grover saw me awake, and said, "Percy, you were muttering in your sleep. Something in Mesopotamian." How did he know what that language was? I decided not to ask.

I ignored him and walked over to Thalia. "Thalia, Zeus didn't do it."

She looked over at me skeptically. "What makes you think so?"

I said, "I dreamed of Kronos again. He was cursing Poseidon for saving us. He pretty much said that he struck us out of the sky."

Thalia just looked confused. "Why would he show you that?"

I shrugged. "The way the dream was put, I don't think he meant to."

Thalia was silent. I told her that I'd go look for signs of civilization. I picked up my pack and checked for my pen/sword Riptide. I guess in this case, the pen was mightier than the sword. Kind of.

Before I could leave, a dark silhouette appeared on the horizon. I went to see who it was. Maybe this person could show us to a hotel, or something. I walked closer, and my insides filled with fury. I muttered Mesopotamian curses under my breath (I guess I learned them from Kronos.) and called Thalia, Grover, and Tyson. He would pay for what he did. I didn't even think about how this was even possible.

Luke.

**THIS IS A FAIRLY IMPORTANT NOTICE: I will NOT write the next chapter until I get at least three reviews for this one. I want real reviews, don't just complain about cliffies (not naming any names) Thanks for all readers, I appreciate it. **


	12. I Black Out For The Billionth Time

**Hi everybody! Here is the next chapter. It will (obviously) explain how Luke has risen. Also, I was thinking of writing a oneshot. I might post it, but maybe not. Enjoy the next chapter!**

Luke had come again.

_How had he come back? I decapitated him for Zeus' sake!_

Thalia was trembling in fury. Tyson had drawn one of his forged swords along with a shield. They looked strange on him. Grover was trembling too, but in fear. Luke walked up to us, his eyes glinting.

"Hey, long time no see, Thalia." He said.

"Luke, you…you…" My voice choked up.

"You killed her," Thalia supplied angrily.

Luke said nothing. He was silent for a couple of seconds and said, "I begged for mercy, didn't I?"

Why would he ask me something like that? "Yes," I said.

"I thought so. I ought to tell you that that wasn't me." Luke said. "It was Kronos' weapon master, a son of Ares. He was morphed into my shape. Yet, he had no pride."

A waterfall of anger splashed through my head. _He didn't kill her, but he was behind it. I would kill him either way._ I uncapped Riptide. "Ah, yes, Anaklusmos. I was informed that you held this blade…so I commissioned this." Luke said.

He held out a shield with a familiar reflective edge…it was almost the same as mine. Mine was different somehow, but I couldn't place it. "It repels celestial bronze, like your own shield." Luke said. How did he know about my shield?

"And since your shield repels celestial bronze, and my original sword was destroyed, I decided to adopt a new style." Luke drew two swords from twin sheaths. One was made of steel, and one of celestial bronze. He put the bronze one back in its sheath and held the steel one in one hand, shield in the other.

Tyson had a strange glint in his eyes. He winked at me, unnoticed by Luke. He said, "If we go and fight, let us fight in the forest." Luke gave him a strange look, and shook his head.

"You die here," Luke said. "The forest won't save you."

"Scared?" I asked. I had no idea what Tyson was thinking about a forest, but the steely glint in his eyes matched the one in Annabeth's when she had a brilliant idea. _Annabeth…_

"All right," Luke said angrily. "You'll die in the forest, then. It makes little difference."

We walked to the forest, as if we had never been hostile. We went deep into the thickets of trees until Tyson said, "Stop here."

Luke drew his steel sword and shield. I drew Riptide. Thalia drew her lightning spear, Tyson his sword and shield, and Grover drew… well, his reed pipes.

What chance did he stand against four of us, all wielding deadly weapons? Except for Grover, but he didn't count. What chance did he have against three of us?

He spun his sword and attacked like he was carrying a stick instead of a three-foot-long sword, striking like a cobra. He flowed recklessly from one position to the next, slashing furiously. I tried to get in with Riptide, but he repelled it with his shield. I learned not to slash but to stab.

Thalia was having no better luck. She slashed and jabbed with her spear to no avail. Grover was trying to play his reed pipes but was panicking and the trees around us seemed to twist into unnatural shapes and nymphs walked out, furious. They immediately went and hid in their trees when they saw the terrible battle. Tyson wasn't very good with a sword and shield, but his strikes made huge _gongs_ through the forest.

Thalia was concentrating hard. Black clouds swirled in the sky. Suddenly, a bolt of lightning came down and Thalia held up her spear. She was enveloped in a cloud of white-hot energy, and stepped out refreshed. She struck Luke's shield with the now-electrified spear.

Luke's shield crackled with blue lightning. I came in with Riptide, thinking the magnet mechanism had been destroyed.

I was wrong. I feinted, and found my sword blocked with Luke's shield. My sword sizzled with energy, and blue electricity flowed around it. I tried to pull it off the shield. I couldn't. I tried again. It was stuck. A surge of electricity made me relinquish my trusty sword. I hoped it would return to my pocket, but the crackling energy seemed to restrain it. Tyson looked as if a lightbulb had gone on over his head.

For the second time today, I was doomed.

Luke grinned. Thalia looked like she wanted to kill herself. Tyson was still smiling, and Grover was doing his best to play his reed pipes.

The steel sword was at my neck. Thalia tried to attack with the spear, but Luke waved her off. "No moves." he said. I steadily backed away. I tripped over a tree root and fell to the ground. Luke gestured, "And now," he said, "you die." He brought his shield forward and raised his sword for a downward stroke.

Tyson yelled, "Percy, hit the shield with yours!"

I was too exhausted to even think about why he said that. I brought my shield upwards and clipped Luke's shield on the side. The electricity arced to my own shield…and exploded.

I was lucky. I was thrown backward and hit my head on a tree trunk. Luke, on the other hand, was flung into the air and hit his back on a huge branch. I heard a loud _crack._ His back was broken.

My head was swimming (no pun intended). The last thing I saw was Thalia and Tyson advancing on the motionless Luke. I blacked out.

**I know this chapter is a bit short. I'm not very good at writing action scenes, but I tried. Keep in mind that I'll want a couple reviews before I post my next chapter and possibly a oneshot. When I say reviews I mean signed reviews. Anonymous ones are welcome but they don't count.**


	13. Talking To Aphrodite

**Hello readers! Thank you for all the reviews, and behold the next chapter! It doesn't have any real action in it, but I drop a bombshell that might be obvious to you, but maybe not to Percy…**

I was unconscious. I had a weird dream about Internet slang causing the downfall of Western civilization. At least it wasn't Kronos. I opened my eyes to Thalia pacing impatiently. Grover and Tyson were nowhere to be seen.

I got up. "Where's Luke?" I asked.

Thalia pointed toward a tree. Luke was leaning on the tree.

"What?" I exclaimed angrily. "You didn't tie him up?"

"There was no need to," Thalia said. "He's paralyzed from the shoulders down."

I decided not to answer to that. "What are you going to do with him?" I asked.

Her brow furrowed. "I don't know." She said. "I don't think we should kill him."

"Why?" I asked. "He's tried to kill us plenty of times."

"It's just that…that…" Thalia couldn't finish.

Luke spoke up. Apparently his voice was not broken. "I know why," he croaked. "I know why."

I didn't look at him. Thalia's eyes were silently pleading with me not to ask him.

I couldn't help myself. "Why?"

Thalia looked murderous. Luke started, "A long time ago, Thalia loved me. She could never accept that I had turned against her. This morning, she was trying to bring me back."

I was shocked. How was this possible? I had seen hints of it on Mount Tam, but I never took it all into play.

Just then, Grover walked out from the trees, fruits piled in his arms. I couldn't have imagined a more convenient time. "Grover, is this true?" I asked him.

He looked sadly at Luke, dropped the fruit, and nodded. "Yes, it is true. And what's more-"

He stopped himself. "Thalia would massacre me if I told you."

I turned to Thalia. "Would you?"

Electricity crackled in the air. "If he's talking about what I think he is, I would do worse than that." Thalia said angrily. "Don't tell him!"

"You owe me," I said to Thalia. "I told you Annabeth's last words."

Luke spoke again, "What were they?"

I didn't answer. Thalia had a furious look in her eyes, plainly telling me, _if you find out what it was, you are DEAD._ I didn't mess with her evil looks.

Well, sometimes I did. This was one of those times.

"Come on Grover, tell me. I'll make sure Thalia doesn't kill you." Maybe I shouldn't have said that.

"Um..um..she…" Grover started. Thalia silenced him with a murderous look.

"It doesn't matter," she said roughly.

I decided to drop it. Not because Thalia persuaded me to, but because it probably didn't matter.

"So, how are we going to decide what to do with him?" I asked her.

She bit her lip. "I told you, I don't know."

A familiar voice behind me boomed, "We can help you with that." I spun around and found myself faced by all the major Olympians, except for Hades. Zeus had addressed his daughter in a friendly voice. "Sorry about the lightning, it was temporarily out of my control."

I was slightly unnerved. "So, what are you going to do with Luke?" I asked, addressing all the Olympians in general.

No one answered. Finally, Aphrodite spoke out, "Percy, can I have a private word with you?"

Oh great. I should have seen this coming. The last time Aphrodite had chatted with me, her conversation had wreaked havoc on my brain for weeks. But I couldn't refuse a goddess.

Now she looked a lot like an older version of Annabeth. "Percy, I wanted to tell you that the we have already held council on this matter. We decided to spare him…because of me."

I shuddered inwardly. What a manipulative witch. She was probably going over in her head how "tragic" my story was.

"Originally, I would have wanted to kill him," she continued. "For interrupting on you and Annabeth! If I were there, I would have told him to wait a couple of minutes, _then _fight to the death with you. Unfortunately, I wasn't."

I wanted to say something, to deny what she had said. But I couldn't.

"Which brings us back to the present," she went on. "I do not want to kill him, because there is another epic coming into play."

"And what would that be?" I asked cautiously. If this was what I thought it was…

"Percy, think." She said patronizingly. "Your friend Thalia is a Hunter of Artemis." She pronounced _Artemis _with a mocking air. She hated Artemis.

"You know, the Hunters beat the members of Camp Half-Blood with ease several hundred times in a row." She said slowly, as if I couldn't comprehend her. "Thalia could've easily overpowered Luke, right?"

If she was implying what I thought she was…I decided not to think about it.

"Yes," I said.

"So, obviously, she is losing her Hunter's strength. Could you think of any possible ways she could?" She seemed touchy about discussing "Hunter's strength".

"She has fallen in love," I said hollowly. She was implying what I thought she was.

"Exactly!" she said happily. "And do you know who the object of her affection is?"

I must not have been thinking straight, because I answered, "M-me?"

"No, silly! If it was you, why would I want to spare _him_?"

Oh great. This was even worse than I thought it was.

"It's Luke," Aphrodite said with a grin.

**For me, if it isn't a cliffie, it's a major bombshell (for Percy at least). You might be able to guess now what Thalia did that she didn't want to tell Percy. I'll want at least three signed reviews before I start the next chapter. **


	14. Council And Feast

**Hi to all readers! This chapter also lacks action, but it has an explanation (sorta) of the electric/magnetism stuff. It also has a MAJOR cliffie. Enjoy, faithful readers!**

I was speechless.

"So what Thalia didn't want to tell me was that-" I said without thinking.

"Exactly." Aphrodite winked. "Grover caught them in a…let's just call it a sentimental moment."

This was getting ridiculous. What the heck did she mean by a sentimental moment? Unless it was what I thought it was…

"We have to get back to the others," Aphrodite said, still smiling.

We walked back to the clearing in which all the Olympians were now standing. Thalia and Grover were pacing impatiently. Tyson was talking to Poseidon, his father. Aphrodite joined them.

Zeus announced, "The council shall be away from the eyes of the traitor." I have to admit, that sounded a bit harsh, if you're addressed as "the traitor".

Zeus snapped his fingers. The air seemed to shimmer around us, and we found ourselves in the white-marbled glory of Mount Olympus. The gods and goddesses sat on their corresponding thrones.

"And now this council begins," Zeus said. "One thing I would like to ask you, Perseus Jackson, how did you defeat Luke? Kronos' spell has given him unimaginable power for a mere mortal."

"It was all because of Tyson," I said modestly. "Luke was wielding a repulse shield, almost the same as mine. I showed them the shield. Poseidon eyed Tyson with an unmistakable expression of pride.

"I don't know exactly what happened, but Tyson can probably explain." I continued and gestured towards Tyson.

"Lord Zeus, you know that electricity messes with magnetism, right?" Tyson addressed Zeus.

Zeus was wearing a slightly bemused expression, but he said, "Yes, I did."

"Percy's sword was stuck to Luke's shield, because Thalia hit Luke's shield with her lightning spear. Percy hit his shield to Luke's and the electricity exploded due to the emergency system I installed on that shield, knocking Luke into a tree." Tyson explained.

"Ah," Zeus said. He still looked confused. "Now back to the business at hand. Should we kill Luke?"

Artemis started off, "He should die for brainwashing my huntress!"

"What about brainwashing your huntress?" Aphrodite asked sweetly. Artemis fell silent. She didn't want everyone knowing about that.

"I say we keep him. He might be of use to us." Zeus said.

Hermes nodded assent. "He's my son. I can't kill him in cold blood, even if he did betray us."

Ares spoke up next. "I think we should keep him…because…I feel good about it." He was eyeing Aphrodite as he said this. It was fairly obvious that Aphrodite had twisted his answer. Normally, Ares would kill anyone if they betrayed him.

Athena said, "Don't keep him. I don't take risks." I remembered what she said before, when the gods were voting on whether to kill me or not. Pretty much the same thing.

Dionysus was twisting a vine around his finger. He commented, "As long as he's a danger to the boy, then I'll keep him."

"Dionysus," Poseidon warned. I could tell that he was going to get angry if Dionysus kept it up.

"What?" Dionysus defended himself. "It's my opinion. If the boy dies, its all for the better. I won't have to be bothered by him anymore."

"Dionysus…" Poseidon's voice was a low growl in his throat. He got up from his throne. Dionysus did the same.

"We don't have time for this," Zeus muttered. "This is ridiculous."

What happened next was so fast that my eyes couldn't comprehend it. There was a loud crack, and thick green vines restrained both Poseidon and Dionysus.

"Could we calm down, please?" Demeter said to them. "None of you ever seem to grow up.". Poseidon and Dionysus were looking murderous.

"Silence!" Zeus roared. "Now we vote. All in favor of killing the traitor?"

Artemis' hand shot up followed by Poseidon's and Athena's. After a few moments, Hephaestus and Hera's hands came next.

"The traitor is not to be killed, then." Zeus said. He waved his hands and food appeared as well as platinum-colored picnic tables. "After the feast, I will summon him here."

Ah, finally. The best part of the Olympian Councils. The feast.

I dug in eagerly. The Nine Muses played their classic multi-song melody, and everybody was chatting pleasantly. What I heard from the Muses was a song of tragedy. It made me feel a little better about Annabeth's death. I would find her and bring her back from the Underworld. I had to.

As the food began to diminish, Apollo walked up to me. "I just don't feel right about something," he said. "Something bad is going to happen."

I didn't give that much thought. "Could you be more specific?" I asked him.

"I don't know," he said. "It's hidden from me. As was the location of my little sis."

"I heard that!" Artemis shouted from another table. "We're twins, for the gods' sake!"

The feast seemed to be over before it had started. Zeus waved his arms and all the food and dirty dishes disappeared. He snapped again, and we were back at the forest. Only one thing was missing.

Luke.

**Mwahahahaha! Cliffies! I will NOT post the next chapter until I have a couple of reviews. By the way, the oneshot idea I mentioned before, here's the idea: What would Percy hear if he listened to the Sirens? I decided to drop the idea, but if there's anyone who wants to try it, go ahead.**


	15. So Close!

**Hi all! Thanks for all those who reviewed, and here's the next chapter!**

"What the fruitcake?" Zeus thundered. I have no idea where he got that. "The traitor is gone!"

Well, duh.

All of the other Olympians stared in shock. Zeus immediately pointed to his brother. "Poseidon did it!"

"Why would I do it?" Poseidon asked calmly. "I voted to kill him, remember?"

Zeus gave him a hateful look. Athena spoke up, "There are two possibilities. Either someone carried him off or he was faking paralysis."

"He wasn't faking paralysis!" Thalia said angrily.

"How would you know?" I smirked. "Did you get _close _to him, perhaps?" I don't know why I resented her for liking Luke, but it was probably because he would have been dead already if not for her. It could screw up our plans.

Thalia blushed a deep crimson and gave me a murderous look. She would kill me later.

Aphrodite winked. Fortunately Artemis didn't notice, as she was fuming. "How dare you insinuate such a thing against my Huntress?"

I didn't answer. If I did, I'd probably get blasted to pieces.

"Back to the issue at hand, people." Ares said. "We will handle Luke, who was most obviously dragged off by someone. About your quest, well, you have no chance. Hades is almost as ruthless as I am."

Yeah right. Hades would leave Ares in the dust in terms of ruthlessness. I didn't tell him that.

"I hate to say it, but as foolhardy as Ares is, he's right." Athena put in. "Hades will never let her go. He hates you remember? He also knows that Annabeth is close to you."

"Exactly!" Ares said, not seeming to realize that he'd been insulted.

"I need to go," I said. "I got a prophecy from the Oracle."

At these words, the Olympians turned to Apollo. "What will happen to the boy on his quest?" Poseidon asked him.

Apollo wagged a finger. "I can't say. It ruins the poetry of time to tell someone what will happen. I say the boy goes, but at the end, Poseidon will be somewhat satisfied, but Athena probably not."

"That's good enough for me," I said. "I'm going, whether you like it or not."

"If you insist," Poseidon said. "As I should be satisfied at the end of the quest, I guess I could send you off," He waved his hand.

"Wait!" Athena's voice cracked. But it was too late. The air shimmered around me and I found myself, Thalia, Grover, and Tyson right in front of DOA Recording Studios.

_Here we are again_, I thought.

Thalia glanced at me. "You shouldn't have told them that," She said angrily. "There are things I like to keep to myself, thank you very much." She slapped me. That hurt.

Now she was eyeing Grover. "Did you tell him?" she demanded.

"No, I didn't," Grover said, visibly trembling. "Aphrodite did."

"That's why Aphrodite wanted to keep Luke alive," I supplied dryly.

Thalia said nothing, but I could tell what she was thinking. Probably something about twisted, evil, goddesses of love.

We slowly walked through the sliding doors. Charon noticed us. "What the fruitcake?" he exclaimed. "You again!"

What was it with immortals and fruitcake? I decided not to ask.

"Yes, me." I said. "We want to get to the Underworld."

"Oh, yes," Charon nodded impressively. "You want to save your girlfriend."

I felt the heat rising in my face. "She's not my-"

"Okay, whatever." Charon cut me off with a dismissive wave of his hand. "The point is that you can come in if you brought me some drachmas. I pitied the girl, but I'm not going to let you off that easy."

I reached for my pack. A horrible feeling struck me. It wasn't there.

I had left my stuff on Mount Olympus.

"Well?" Charon asked, smirking. "No drachmas for me?"

I had to struggle to control my anger. "I guess not."

"Well, on your way then." Charon waved his hand and we found ourselves standing outside the building.

A wave of hopelessness enveloped me. "We came all the way here, just to find that we lost our drachmas. The only thing we can do is going back."

"Snap out of it!" Thalia snapped. "We'll find a way."

"I could help you with that." A voice I recognized said behind me.

It was none other than Ares, the god of war.

**I am having mercy on you now, readers. Be glad it is not a cliffie. You may not be able to enjoy this benefit again… Sorry if I killed too much time with the gods warping Percy to L.A. but the story was too long to store in my head. They still have to get back to New York safely…**


	16. My Favorite Uncle

**Hi all, and thanks for the reviews! This chapter actually has some action in it, and more than you might think. This story is far from over...**

"What the fruit-" Thalia exclaimed. Like father, like daughter.

"Relax. I'm not hostile. Yet." Ares said with a grin. "I'm offering you an opportunity to earn some drachmas so you can save your girlfriend,"

I blushed. "What do you want me to do?"

"You see, we Olympians recorded the day I fought with you. They were playing it back today and laughed at me. I made a wager: we would fight again, and whoever won would get a drachma prize. I have the drachmas with me now." Ares motioned toward his pocket.

"Just me and you then?" I asked. I was lucky last time, but maybe I could beat him again.

"One more thing," Ares continued. "Poseidon insisted that we fight with celestial bronze." He drew a long celestial bronze sword.

Why had Poseidon insisted on that? _Of course! The shield!_ I thought. It would be amusing to beat Ares, again.

"It's on, then." I said, drawing Riptide and expanding the shield.

Ares noticed the metallic luster of the shield. "What's that for?" he asked. I thought it was his business to know about weapons.

"It's just to instill doubt in a pathetic mind such as yours." I said.

Ares growled. "You're going down, kid. There's more at stake here than just drachmas."

_Yeah, your reputation_, _which is pretty pathetic anyway._ I thought. I didn't say it aloud.

I instigated the duel with a quick thrust toward Ares' stomach. He spun out of the way and slashed downward with his own sword. I held up the shield and thrust forward with it, a little too hard. The sword spun in his hands and whacked him right between the eyes. He fell to the ground.

"What the-" he exclaimed. I hoped he wasn't going to say 'fruitcake'. He didn't.

He got up. "That's it kid, you are DEAD." His sword caught on fire. He began to spin like a tornado, kicking up dust. Thalia and the others watched in horror.

I tried to thrust Riptide into the whirling vortex that was Ares, but it was quickly knocked aside by his sword. I backed away slowly.

A huge _crack _resounded in the distance. I looked around, startled. There was nothing there. I could faintly make out a grin on the spinning Ares' face.

A realization hit me. _Oh my gods, he's broken the sound barrier! _

Great. I seemed to be doomed on a regular basis nowadays.

Tyson was whispering something to Thalia. She nodded and her face became a mask of concentration. A huge black cloud hovered in the sky, unnoticed by Ares.

Tyson yelled, "Percy, hold up the shield!"

I did so, and lightning began to strike it. One, two, three, four times. Thalia collapsed on to the ground, exhausted. Grover played something on his reed pipes and Thalia got up, leaning heavily on Grover.

My shield was now surrounded with a nimbus of crackling blue energy. Ares had a mildly impressed look on his swirling face, but he held his ground.

He began to spin toward me, like a malevolent, sword-wielding, supersonic top. He picked up speed. He was inches from me when I held up the shield.

He tripped and fell forward, his sword attached to my shield. The flames had gone out. He looked amazed. He pulled, hard, to no avail. I put Riptide to his throat. "I win," I said, grinning.

I saw a look of pure hatred on his face. He began to glow, and I looked away as he revealed his immortal form. A clatter of drachmas on asphalt told me that he had kept his promise.

I picked up the drachmas and counted them. Fifty drachmas should be enough for four to the Underworld, right? Everyone around us walked around minding his or her own business. I guess Ares had strengthened the Mist when we fought.

Grover clapped me on the back. "Nice job, man!"

I said modestly, "I couldn't have done it without Thalia or Tyson."

Thalia acknowledged with a feeble shake of her head. Tyson winked. We walked through the doors or DOA Recording Studios.

Charon was inside, shuffling papers. He looked up when he saw us. "Ah, you." He said lazily. "I heard the ruckus outside. You have any drachmas for me?"

"In fact, I do. Fifty drachmas for four to the Underworld." I said, hoping they'd be enough.

Charon snatched the coins up and beckoned toward the boat. A couple of spirits grabbed onto us, hissing unintelligible words. Charon pulled them off and we boarded the boat.

"Hades didn't give me a pay raise before. Maybe if you mention it to Persephone…" Charon's voice trailed off. "Oh well, you're doomed anyway, it's no use telling you that."

"Thanks for the words of encouragement," I said sarcastically.

Charon didn't answer. The boat began to propel itself forward. Thalia shivered. I felt sorry for her, as she had never been to the Underworld.

We hovered over the River Styx. I heard Grover explaining to Thalia why it was so polluted. She was deathly pale, starting to almost look like Hades.

The boat touched down, and we climbed out. What I heard next made me jump like ten feet into the air. A voice came from deep in the Underworld.

"WHAT THE FRUITCAKE?!?!?!?"

Great. My favorite uncle, Hades.

**This isn't **_**really **_**a cliffie, but I wanted to be funny. If you want to know the origin of "What the fruitcake?" just ask. Remember, reviews and time are required to post the next chapters.**


	17. A Terrible Price

**Hi all, and thanks for all reviews, signed and anonymous. I do not have much detail in the Underworld, because I only faintly remember how Mr. Riordan portrayed it in the Lightning Thief. However, the Elysium Fields is something else…**

"WHAT THE FRUITCAKE?!?!?!?" A thunderous voice yelled.

Great. My favorite uncle was rolling out the welcome mat. Thalia looked like she was going to faint.

"What is it with you and fruitcakes?" An equally loud female voice answered. Someone was finally voicing my thoughts. Must've been Persephone.

I heard Hades making excuses. Thalia managed a weak chuckle.

A faint growling was in the distance, easily identified by me as Cerberus. Unfortunately, Thalia didn't know. "What is that?" she asked nervously.

"It's Cerberus." I said grimly. At these words, Thalia did faint. Who knew she was so scared of the Underworld? I gave her a short draught of nectar and she opened her eyes and got up. We strode through a familiar arch indicating Erebus.

We walked, and walked, and walked. Spirits chattered at us impatiently. I was hoping to see Annabeth somewhere, but no luck. The howling was getting louder. Thalia was pale, almost white. Grover had a fearful expression on his face. Tyson was just looking grim.

We stopped at the gate at which I knew Cerberus resided. The dead walked in between his feet, hissing and jabbering to each other. Cerberus barked loudly.

"Um, Percy?" Grover asked nervously.

"Yeah?"

"You really want to know what he said, don't you?"

"Yes,"

"Well, he said…'what the fruitcake? You again?'" Grover shrank away.

I growled. First gods, and now three-headed dogs? What was next?

Cerberus made a keening sound, the same one I had heard from him when I first came to the Underworld. "What'd he say?" I asked Grover.

Grover was pale. "He wants another red rubber ball."

I reached for my pack…and remembered that it wasn't there. "I don't have it!" I yelled to Cerberus, hoping he'd understand.

He probably did, as he growled angrily. Thalia screamed. I backed away slowly.

The right side head came forward and sniffed Grover, then made a strange "pfft" sound. Grover looked insulted.

"What did he say?" I asked him.

Grover sniffed. "He said, 'yuck'."

I raised my eyebrows. "You take that as an insult?"

Grover gave me a look, and I returned to the business at hand. I was doomed, _again._ How come nothing good ever happened to me?

The middle head lunged for me. I ducked and rolled, running right into Thalia. That jolted her out of her reverie. She pulled out her spear.

I drew Riptide. Cerberus howled, and it felt like the whole Underworld was shaking. The terror diminished slightly on Grover's face.

"I'm guessing what he said has some significance?" I asked Grover.

"He's afraid of the sword, and he's calling for Hades." He said. I wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not.

Hades came strolling in; arm in arm with a dark-haired woman I assumed was Persephone. "What is the meaning of this?" he screeched. "You dare come here?"

Persephone whispered something into Hades' ear, and he calmed slightly. "Oh, yes," he said arrogantly. "You have come to bargain for _her._" A burst of gold fire appeared in his palm. I thought he was going to blow me to Tartarus, but apparently not.

The gold fire exploded into the form of a spirit of the dead, one I recognized. _Annabeth!_

Hades closed his palm and Annabeth disappeared. "I have not yet decided whether or not to give her to you. I have never released a spirit from my kingdom, but my Persephone thinks that it'd improve my reputation."

Persephone winked. "We will speak of this matter, Hades and I. We shall get back to you later. In the meantime, you can explore our kingdom." Hades said something to Cerberus, and he relaxed. They walked off.

That seemed a pretty generous offer, considering that Hades hated my guts. I motioned to my friends. "Where do you want to go first?" I asked.

"Can we go to Elysium? Please?" Grover asked.

"Why not?" Thalia asked. She hadn't spoken since we got to the Underworld, and some of the color was returning to her face.

I beckoned. We had to go under Cerberus in order to get to Elysium. I walked slowly underneath him, and to my surprise, Cerberus made no noise.

We walked some more, carefully watching the ceiling. There were huge stalactites hanging from there, and they didn't look very stable. Soon, we came to an arch labeled _Elysium: Isles for The Blest._ Thalia relaxed visibly.

We walked through to the green pastures. Elysium was beautiful. Tyson was oohing and Grover was rubbing his stomach. "I wish there was something to eat. I haven't eaten in _forever._" He said. No sooner had he said that, a pile of tin cans appeared before him, even enough to satiate Grover's enormous appetite.

"Cool! Instant wish granter!" Thalia cried. All visible signs of her discomfort were gone.

"I wish…Luke was good again." Thalia said. I could hear the longing in her voice. Nothing happened. I guess that even Elysium wasn't perfect.

I could smell a barbecue. I was hungry, too. I followed the smell, and before long I was there. Instead of shimmering spirits of the dead, I saw realistic looking people, some of them I recognized.

I picked up some food. It tasted like nothing I had ever tasted before, a mixture of every single food I liked. In other words, perfect.

A half-formed thought leapt unbidden to my lips: "I wish I could see Annabeth here," I said wistfully.

No sooner had I said that, Annabeth appeared. I ran forward and embraced empty air. She was there, but not solid. She mouthed something and put her nonsolid hand to my cheek. I didn't feel anything, but I could see her hand.

My wish came to mind. _I wish I could see Annabeth here. Not hear, or touch, but to see._ I didn't think Elysium would be so technical about wishes.

I quickly wished for her full presence, but nothing happened. It must have been too major of a wish. Annabeth waved and dissolved into golden dust. _I had lost her again…_

Thalia came up to me, with Grover and Tyson. All three gave me a sorrowful look. They must have seen Annabeth, too.

Hades came walking up to me, looking somewhat satisfied. Persephone looked grim. My heart sank. _They won't let her go, _I thought.

"We have decided to let your friend go…at a price." Hades said. I almost jumped for joy. I would do anything to save her.

"The price is…" Persephone looked strained, as if it wasn't her idea, and she didn't like it. "That one of your friends must be thrown to Tartarus."

**Another day, another cliffie. Persephone is totally serious about one of Percy's friends being thrown to Tartarus. Go ahead and cry your eyes out. I already know exactly what I'm going to do in the next chapter, I just need some reviews and then I'll write it. By the way, NOTHING, absolutely nothing, you say is going to change my mind about someone being thrown to Tartarus. Just so you know.**


	18. One Of My Friends Is Thrown To Tartarus

**Thank you hogwartsgirl52, for pointing out that to eat Underworld food is to be trapped there. This will be incorporated here. Did I kill you all with that cliffie? Be glad I never take longer than two days to update…**

I stared blankly in shock. _What?_ My mind did too.

Thalia spoke first. "Why?" she asked. I could tell, she was hoping for something much less of a price.

"I may want to improve my image, but I don't want to appear…what's the word… _sentimental_. Soon everyone that knows about me will be coming down here demanding loved ones. I can't let that happen." Hades said. "Choose."

I was torn. I couldn't choose. It just wasn't right. "Lord Hades, I…"

Tyson whispered something into Thalia's ear. Thalia just looked confused, and asked what I understood was, "Are you sure?"

Tyson nodded. Thalia's eyes lit up. So did Grover's. What had they thought up?

"Percy, I am going to try something. Just let me, all right?" Tyson said. I nodded. What could he do to change Hades' mind?

He walked up to Hades. "I'll do it," he said.

"What? No!" I cried, running up to Tyson. "You can't."

"It's the only way, brother." He said confidently. I remember once when he was like this; he come this close to sacrificing himself to save all of us on the C.S.S. Birmingham.

Something occurred to me: Tyson had told Thalia something. And Grover had read her emotions. "Is there something you're not telling me?"

"Yes, there is. Just think about it."

"Why can't you tell me now?"

"Because I need to keep the readers in suspense." Tyson explained matter-of-factly.

"What readers?" I asked. What the heck was he talking about?

"Oh, never mind." Tyson said. "Just trust me."

I had no idea what he was going to do, but Thalia and Grover seemed to approve of it. "Tyson, you don't have to do this," I said.

He leaned closer to me. "It's the only way we'll all get out alive."

What? There was a possible way for us all to get out alive? Why, then, was Tyson going to jump into Tartarus?

"Just trust him," Thalia said.

"I…I can't." I said.

Tyson ignored me. "Let's go, Lord Hades."

"Wait!" I cried. I ran after him. Hades snapped his fingers, and they were gone.

"No…" I had lost another friend.

"Percy," Thalia said. "We'll see him again."

"Why?" I sniffled.

"I can't tell you."

"Why?" I was starting to sound a bit pompous. "Because of those so-called 'readers'?"

"Yes," Thalia said. I was about to ask who the heck these readers were when Hades and Persephone appeared with a loud crack.

"It is done," Hades announced. "Even I keep my promises, mortals. Here she is." He snapped his fingers.

A vision came into my head. The stone tomb that Annabeth was buried in began to glow. The few campers nearby watched, amazed. The glow faded.

I came back to the real world. A glowing outline stood before Hades. The glow began to fade, revealing a motionless Annabeth.

_Annabeth!_ I ran up to her and checked her pulse. Sure enough, a faint beating greeted my fingers. I felt weak with happiness. The only dark stain was that I would never see Tyson again…

"Lord Hades…I don't know how to thank you." I said.

"Okay, okay, let's not get sentimental here," Hades said, annoyed. He was a lot more good-natured when Persephone was there. "She will be in this comatose state for a couple of days, probably.You can leave now."

He waved his hand, but nothing happened. He tried again. Nothing happened. "You didn't happen to eat anything when you were here, did you?" he asked.

I felt a sinking feeling. "Yes," I said. What if we were trapped here?

" Выпустите их облигации!" he said angrily. I understood that to mean, "Release their bonds!" in Mesopotamian. Why that language?

This time, Persephone smiled and waved her hand. The whole world around us fell into blackness. I opened my eyes and found myself in front of DOA Recording Studios, where I had defeated Ares. Annabeth was in my arms, her skin cold and clammy.

I carefully laid Annabeth on the ground, and then turned on Thalia. "What did Tyson tell you?" I asked.

"I can't tell you," Thalia said. She was struggling not to laugh. "I could tell you, but then the readers would find out."

What in Hades was with her and these "readers"? I wasn't going to get a straight answer from her, so I turned to Grover. "Grover…" I growled, trying to sound as intimidating as possible.

"She's telling the truth!" Grover said nervously.

They wouldn't tell me. If Tyson ever came back, I would ask. Not that I thought that was going to happen.

Annabeth stirred._ Hades said she'd be asleep for a couple days; maybe she's waking up early! _I thought.

She screamed. Her eyes were still shut tightly, but this seemed to be some bizarre symptom of her being taken out of the Underworld. A memory flashed through my head.

_There were spiders everywhere, and we were trapped. Grover struggled to break the net blocking our escape, but it kept weaving itself together…_

"Percy?" Thalia was shaking me.

I immediately snapped from my reverie. "What?"

"You went, like, rigid. I thought you were having some sort of seizure." Thalia cast a worried look at Annabeth. She must have seen that something was wrong, and associated it with her.

"Oh, yes," A kind voice behind me said. I turned, and saw that it was Persephone. I must have looked surprised, because she said, "Haven't you noticed? Spring is beginning."

She was right. The land around us was tinged with green; trees' leaves were beginning to grow back. Persephone cast a worried look at Annabeth. "From what I can determine, her life is flashing before her. The good, and, unfortunately, the bad. She'll wake up when she gets to the present time." Persephone said.

She snapped, and disappeared.

**This is not a cliffie, either. Be glad. By the way, the so-called Mesopotamian translation is actually English translated into Russian. If anyone can guess what Tyson told Grover and Thalia, don't put it on your review. PM me if you think you know what it is.**


	19. Flashbacks

**Hi to all my readers and reviewers! This chapter, as the name suggests, has flashbacks into Annabeth's life before she met Percy. You might be surprised….**

"Okay, so what now?" I asked to no one in particular.

Grover puffed a few notes out on his reed pipes, in what I recognized as a "find path" song. "Do we have any money left?" he asked.

I shook my head. "I think we left the money for our return flight on Olympus."

"Ah," Grover said. He pointed left. "That way is to New York. We have a long way to go, considering we have no money."

I felt a sharp pain at the top of my head. I looked up to see a flying sandal kicking at my head. Thalia burst out laughing, and I could have sworn I saw a smile cross the unmoving Annabeth's face.

The sandal had an envelope tied to it. I opened it to find several dollar bills and a note. The note said:

_Percy,_

_This is from your dad. He cannot help you directly by transporting you, so he decided to get you some money. I recommend that you use it for a train or subway ride. Whatever you do, do NOT go on a plane. Kronos still has little power over the sky, as he was the previous ruler of it._

_Hermes_

"Wow," I said. "Perfect timing. Poseidon sent us some money."

Thalia raised her eyebrows. "Let's go." She said. "Goat boy, where's the train station?"

Grover looked slightly miffed at being called "goat boy". He pulled a map out of nowhere and examined it. "From what I can determine, it is that over there." He pointed toward a large building that appeared to be several hundred yards away.

"Convenient," Thalia commented dryly. I picked up Annabeth, put the invisibility cap on her head, and we walked to the station.

The clerk was somewhat skeptical. "The next train is in fifteen minutes. You have money?"

I pulled out a sheaf of dollar bills without looking at them. The clerk went pale. "Those are fake. They have to be fake." He snatched them from my hand and ran them under some sort of scanner. He went even paler. "First class, then." He handed back all but one of the bills. They looked to me like regular $1 bills.

_Magic, _I realized. They changed to fit the need.

"The train has one stop in Missouri," said the clerk. "Have a nice day."

We boarded the train, apparently, just in time. Thalia and Grover sat in one booth, while I sat in another and laid Annabeth on the seat across from me, taking off the invisibility cap.

A strange feeling struck me. I felt like I was leaning toward Annabeth, but my body wasn't moving at all. The strange feeling-consciousness touched Annabeth's hand, and I was lost in a storm of memories.

"_Go!" Thalia cried. I was running beside her, fleeing from the oncoming tide of monsters. I looked back fearfully. Three winged bat-like creatures wielding flaming whips, a cloud of demonic looking hounds, and who knows what else was chasing us. _

"_I can't leave you!" Luke cried. _

"_Just go!" Thalia violently gestured with her hand. _

"_We can't!" Grover said this time. "I was assigned to you!"_

"_That doesn't matter!" Thalia yelled. The monsters were starting to catch up. _

"_GO!" Thalia screamed. "I don't want to live like this. Hades will chase after me for the rest of my life. I don't want to live like this, I DON'T!"_

"_But…" Grover hesitated._

"_GO!!" she cried. Power radiated from her anger. The sky was black, and lightning began to strike repeatedly. I reeled backward. _

_Luke grabbed my wrist. "Come on!" He pulled me to a range at which I could still barely see Thalia. Grover had fled with us._

_It was too much. She fell onto her hands and knees, panting with the effort of accidentally releasing her power. The bat-creature grinned in triumph._

"_Go!" she cried once more. The winged thing flicked its flaming whip and brought it down on Thalia. I covered my face for what seemed like several minutes._

"_Annabeth," Luke shook me. "Look."_

_Thalia was nowhere to be seen. Neither were the monsters. Taking her place was a humongous pine tree, right on the property line._

The memory ended. I opened my eyes to my regular consciousness. Silent tears were running down Annabeth's face. Her life was streaming before her, and in no particular order.

I wanted to comfort her, despite she being unconscious. Something in my head was trying to stop me. I mentally brushed away the resistance and put my hand to her cheek, gently brushing away the tears.

I plunged into another one of her memories.

_I sat weeping in the forest. Thalia was gone. I would never see her again._

_Luke came walking up to me. "Thinking about Thalia?" In three words, he had encompassed exactly what I was thinking about._

_I didn't answer. He walked behind me and wound his arms around me. I wanted to glare at him, to tell him that that wasn't necessary. But I couldn't._

_I slid into his arms and immediately fell asleep. I woke up on the ground._

I reverted back to my regular self. I had almost forgotten about being on a train, but a sharp jolt brought me back to my senses.

"We are now at Missouri. This train will be connecting to New York in approximately two hours." A cool female voice said. I put the Yankees cap on Annabeth's head, picked her up, and went to wake up Thalia, who had fallen asleep during the trip. She wasn't too happy when I did.

"All right, all right I'm coming." Thalia said grumpily. We got off the train, and left the station.

Grover looked agitated. "What's wrong?" I asked him.

"Monsters. There is at least one major monster in the immediate area." Grover said nervously. I didn't blame him.

"All right, whatever." I said. "Let's go look for something to do. Meet you at the train station in an hour and a half."

"All right," Thalia agreed. Grover looked slightly perturbed, but he went with Thalia.

I walked in a straight beeline toward something I couldn't see. I felt as if something was drawing me toward itself, something unidentifiable. I walked into a dark, deserted alley.

"Look heeere," a hissing voice said. Like an idiot, I looked. When I looked the speaker directly in the eye, I knew it would be the last thing I would ever do.

Medusa.

**Mwahahahaha! More cliffies! Soon I shall dominate Western civilization with an army of…never mind. If I made mistakes with the memories, let me know. If I made any mistakes, let me know. I might post the next chapter earlier tomorrow, because I don't have school.**


	20. The Necklace of Power

**Hi all, and welcome to the next chapter! This chapter might surprise you, because I took something of little significance, and made it into something important to the plot. Behold, the next chapter!**

Time was slowing down. I stared into Medusa's green eyes and snaky hair. She was looking bemused.

"Persseuss Jackson," said Medusa.

"Yeah?" I was starting to get a little scared. How come I didn't get turned to stone?

The answer, believe it or not, came from inside my shirt. The blue sapphire amulet was glowing with energy. Hades must have given me the wrong necklace. I pulled it out.

She saw me examining the necklace. "Ahh, yesss. Hades' necklace of power. It has chosen a new master." she said with a dry laugh. "I can show you how to unlock its true potential."

I uncapped Riptide. "And I would be interested, why?" I put it to the side of her neck.

"Foolissshh boy," Medusa said with a snarl. "It can raise the dead."

That stopped me short. Medusa took advantage of the silence and continued, "The helm of darkness was just a ruse. This is his true symbol of power."

"You lie," I said, though I wasn't sure. What if she was telling the truth?

I put the amulet back in my shirt, where it glowed with heat and energy. "I'll find out how to use it for myself, thank you." I said. Before I had even gripped Riptide to cut off her head, a fine beam of blue energy lanced from the amulet and struck Medusa in the neck. She screamed and flailed and disintegrated into golden dust.

Half an hour later, we met back at the train station. "Guys, we have a problem." I said to the others.

"What?" asked Thalia anxiously. She was carrying Annabeth at the time.

I pulled out the necklace. "Hades gave me the wrong item. I met Medusa in an alley. I looked her in the eye, and the sapphire protected me. She thinks that it is a so-called necklace of power, and that I am the new master of it. The necklace killed her with some sort of energy."

Thalia paled. "Necklace of power?"

"Yes," I said.

"I have heard stories of this necklace of power," Grover cut in. "If what I have heard is true…"

"What you have heard _is _true," said a recognizable voice. I turned. Athena was walking toward us, with a panicked expression on her face. "So the necklace has chosen you as its master?"

"Apparently," I said, pulling out the necklace. "It killed Medusa for me."

Athena looked even worse. "We have to get out of here," she hissed.

"Why?"

"Just get about fifty feet away from us, _now._"

I didn't argue with a goddess. Especially a goddess that is wearing an expression of mortal fear on her face. Athena was.

I could see her checking Annabeth's pulse. She paled visibly, then ran to me and grabbed the necklace. My head jerked forward. She tried to pull it off, but it was somehow attached to my neck.

With a flash of light, Athena and I were standing on a sand dune in what appeared to be the middle of nowhere. "Why here?" I asked.

"That necklace has unlimited power, but at a terrible cost. It is an evil thing. It draws energy from anything that cannot resist its call. In short, all mortals and spirits of the dead. The less willpower they currently have, the more it will drain from them. You almost killed Annabeth with it." Athena said, somewhat angrily. "Where did you get it?"

"Lord Hades gave it to me," I said, feeling hollow. "He said it was an empathy-link amulet."

"Прокляните это!" she swore. "It holds little cost for Hades, as he draws power from the damned in the Fields of Punishment. He must have given you the wrong one. You must wander until the necklace runs out of power. When you start feeling tired, call Apollo. He's always nearby these desert climates."

She was about to wave her hand to disappear when I cried, "Wait!"

"What is it?"

"Medusa said that this necklace could raise the dead. Is that true?" I asked desperately.

"I know not," said Athena. "Do not try it, because by my estimation, the energy released would be equivalent to you being struck by the master bolt. Hades could contain the energy, but you cannot."

She disappeared on that cheery statement.

Great. I was supposed to wander aimlessly in the desert until the magic wore off. Who knows how long that would take? Hades was charging it for eternity. I had a feeling Athena didn't tell me because I might get severely depressed, and do who knows what.

I walked, and walked, and walked. I had no idea how long I walked with no apparent direction, but I never got tired. The necklace must have been nourishing me. At least it was releasing power. Maybe it would go quicker now.

I saw a couple of hooded figures in the distance, but they didn't appear to notice me. Must have been the Mist. I was starting to get really bored.

A thought struck me. _Maybe the empathy-link thing will work with this! _I concentrated on the face of Annabeth, which wasn't hard. Hopefully connecting with her would consume some of the necklace's energy.

Instead of her consciousness, I connected with another of her memories…

_I walked into the room, hiding under a shadowy balcony. There they were, Thalia, Luke, and Grover, hanging like smoked hams from the ceiling. The one-eyed monster was starting a fire in the room._

_His one eye flicked to me. Fear flooded my body. "Annabeth," he said, using my father's voice. I shivered. "I love you. You can stay with me. You can stay with me forever."_

_I walked forward, mesmerized. The Cyclops laughed and grabbed for me. I ducked and ran aimlessly. I saw his foot nearby and did the only thing that made logical sense at the time._

_I pulled out my knife and stabbed it. The Cyclops howled in pain and clutched his heel. I ran to Thalia and cut her ropes._

_Thalia's eyes were blazing. She cut Luke's and Grover's ropes, and bade them to stay back. Luke came anyway. _

_The Cyclops roared furiously. He smacked Luke with the back of his hand and knocked him across the room._

_Thalia pulled out her sword with a cry. Lightning shredded a hole in the ceiling and struck the sword. Thalia watched, amazed. The sword was crackling with heat and energy._

_She spun the sword like a javelin and struck the Cyclops in the stomach. That was as far as she could reach upward. It screamed and waved its hand around haphazardly, trying to catch Thalia._

_She did the unthinkable. She struck the hand, and jumped on it. She ran up the arm, jumped, and struck the Cyclops right in the eye. It flailed and fell to the ground. Thalia scaled down his body, and drove the short electrified sword into its heart. The Cyclops disintegrated into golden dust._

I abruptly returned to consciousness. There was a familiar figure standing before me, one that had always interrupted me.

Luke.

**Cliffies! Cliffies! More cliffies! Mwahahahahahahaha! Verop, when you read this, know that it is payback for your EVIL cliffie. I know I use Luke a lot for cliffies. Who knows? He might die for good this time.**


	21. Drawback To Power

**Hi all readers! I hope that cliffie tormented you day and night! This chapter may make Percy seem way too powerful at first, but read on and see what happens. You never know when you get godly interference…**

"Luke," I growled. "Apparently your back healed."

"Kronos has made me more powerful than ever before," Luke said with a snarl. "I will have no trouble dispatching you." He drew a transparent sword, which I eyed with interest. "A new mineral discovered by Lord Kronos. Celestial diamond. Its name is Отрава Героев."

"Heroes' Bane," I said, surprised that the unfamiliar language came so quickly. A diamond sword named Heroes' Bane. Just what I needed.

He spun, and attacked. He whirled his sword around with a combination of brute force and grace. His sword struck mine…and cleaved through it.

"You have got to be kidding me," I said out loud. My trusty sword Riptide, made by Zoë Nightshade, had just been destroyed beyond repair. I almost gave up then and there.

Luke put Отрава Героев to my neck. "It's about time I killed you," he said, grinning. I felt warmth on my chest, beating. At first I thought it was my heart, but the heat was unnatural.

I began to glow with a blue light. Luke seemed not to notice. Отрава Героев cut deeper into my neck. There was a loud crack and Luke was thrown into the air, his sword glinting in the light. He landed with a grunt on a sand dune. He got up, surprised.

I raised half of Riptide to defend myself as Luke came toward me, growling. He picked up the diamond sword and readied a blow.

A word leapt unbidden to my lips. "Разрушитесь!" I said. Luke's sword shattered into a thousand pieces. I could barely contain my surprise.

"Impossible…" Luke said, holding the hilt of his demolished sword.

More unfamiliar words rose from my mouth. "Щит! Поднимитесь!" I said. A blue bubble of energy surrounded me. Everything was tinged with blue, but my eyesight was sharpened.

"But…but…" Luke stuttered. I could see fear in his eyes. I saw something else, too: myself. I looked different. My eyes were glowing sky blue, and an unseen power was rippling my hair, like the wind.

I began to rise into the air. Luke was staring, mesmerized with fear. I had complete control of the bubble, and hatred was coursing through my body. I knew that if Luke came into contact with it, he would be destroyed. I readied myself for the final strike…

**Meanwhile, at Mount Olympus**

I was watching the TV in his room at Mount Olympus with growing apprehension. _Impossible,_ I thought to myself. The boy wielded power greater than any he had seen, greater than any immortal I had seen. The necklace seemed a good deal to me, as I didn't care about others being drained of energy.

The boy had wrecked my reputation, and now this?

I hated him. He was the reason I was embarrassed twice in front of all the Olympians. He was the reason for many things I won't go into. He was the reason of…well, you get the idea.

He was unworthy to wield such power. I had to do something. I could not give such power to his opponent, as even I was not that powerful.

"Hmmm, what can I do?" I mused aloud.

An idea struck me. I could not give such power to the boy Luke, but I could give him power to imitate Percy…

I snapped my fingers for some magic. A wave of exhaustion enveloped me. It was heavy magic. I immediately fell asleep.

**Back to the middle of nowhere**

I was ready to strike Luke down for all that he did. Something was holding me back, but I brushed away the unexpected mental resistance contemptuously. The barrel of blue energy surrounding me seemed to pulsate. Luke was backing away.

Out of nowhere, a flash of light blinded me. I opened my eyes to find Luke…in a golden bubble almost exactly similar to mine. His eyes were glowing like Apollo in the desert.

I did the only thing that made sense: I rammed the bubble. He rammed back. When the bubbles connected, they crackled, and repelled each other. I pulled back with a pained expression. He did the same.

We rammed each other again, with so much force that we were both blown across the desert, skidding in the sand. I feinted to the right with my bubble (I know that sounds weird,). Luke tried the same maneuver, and we ended up on reversed sides.

I groaned. Luke groaned. I didn't even see what was going on here. A shimmering face of Annabeth appeared in my head and snapped, "He's imitating you, Seaweed Brain! Stop fighting!"

I needed to be sure. I wiggled my bubble from left to right. Luke wiggled his bubble from left to right. _Okay, this is seriously weird, _I thought.

I lowered my bubble to the ground. So did Luke. "Пойти." I said, and my bubble dissipated. Luke spoke the word, and his bubble disappeared. I walked up to him and held out my hand.

He gripped it, and I shook, prompting him to do likewise. A brilliant idea struck me. If these words seemed to have power over the magic of the necklace then maybe, just maybe…

"Я клянусь на всей моей власти, что я становлюсь вашим союзником, и может волшебство быть выпущенным." I said, the words coming to my mind easily. It was a pledge of loyalty, bound by magic. It also released the imitation enchantment.

Luke repeated them, and there was an immediate change in his expression. All the degradation from him working with Kronos was gone. His face seemed fuller, and you could tell he was good again.

He was about to say something when he collapsed onto the ground. I immediately kneeled down and checked his pulse. He was dead.

The amulet around my neck crackled and died.

**Not a cliffie, but then again, you want to know what happens next. Power always has a drawback. This is the first time I've updated twice in a day, and probably the last. If you want to know exactly what Percy says to control the amulet, copy-paste it into a translator for Russian-English.**


	22. Temptations

**There is only one word to describe this chapter: RADICAL. I don't think this has been done ever in the history of PJO fanfics. Behold, the next chapter. The end might be somewhat depressing, but I swear to you, this story WILL have a happy ending.**

I swore. Luke just _had _to die when he was good again. Thalia wouldn't be too happy. At least I exhausted the necklace. I dug a deep hole in a sand dune and chucked the amulet in there, and covered it up. It wouldn't be bothering anyone anytime soon.

I was starting to get thirsty. The nourishment from the necklace was no more. I looked up at the sun, which was pretty hard, and yelled, "Hey! Lord Apollo!"

In a matter of seconds, Apollo's sun car was parked before me. "Athena told me that you'd call in roughly twelve thousand years. How did you exhaust the necklace?" He asked anxiously.

"I fought Luke," I said. "I used some sort of magic to bind him to a promise."

Apollo cursed under his breath. "Then Kronos is becoming even more powerful than I could have imagined."

"How?" I asked.

"I don't know," Apollo said, frowning. "If you fought him with magic-"

"I did," I said.

"-Then you probably exhausted only a little of the power in the necklace." Apollo said.

"I don't know," I said. "He seemed to be enchanted to mimic me, so we didn't stop fighting until I stopped."

"Still," Apollo looked troubled. "It only could have consumed so much energy. Binding him to a promise took the rest of the energy, it means that his power has been reinforced by Kronos."

"Okay," I said, not particularly wanting to worry about this. "Can you take me back to my friends?"

"Sure," he said. "We need to go slow, and keep a low profile. It's nighttime." He was right. The stars glittered above us.

"All right," I yawned. "Maybe I can take a nap."

"Be my guest," Apollo said. "It's going to take a while to get back to America. We're in the Sahara."

So that's where we were. I climbed into Apollo's Maserati and almost immediately fell asleep. Apollo was driving really, really slow.

Kronos was giggling. Again. Now he was talking to himself: "Now I can put my plan of total evilness into effect! Mwahahahaha!"

He spoke again, in a much more guttural voice. "Позвольте их фатальным недостаткам быть переключенными, и усилен. Свалите их!!" he said. I would have understood him, but I no longer had the necklace. He began to giggle some more. My perspective faded out.

I woke up feeling way different. For one, I felt proud. I felt like I could do anything, like I could defeat Kronos single-handedly, like I could rebuild the world. Apollo was driving with a bored expression on his face. "Where are we?" I asked.

"Almost all the way across the Atlantic," he said with a yawn. "You can go to sleep again, kid. It's going to be a while."

I couldn't sleep. Something was disturbing me. I looked up and saw pitch-black clouds. Apollo didn't seem to notice. Something ominous hung around these clouds, something I couldn't quite place.

What it was became apparent immediately. A fine beam of lightning struck the spot next to me head-on. I went flying out of the vehicle and into the sea. Apollo didn't notice until I was halfway down. He didn't fly down to save me.

Zeus was trying to kill me! At least I would be falling into the water. I fell into the water with a splash. I came downward normally, but my breathing started to become difficult. An outline in the water, not clearly distinguishable, was waving a trident. My dad!

I was going to call for him, but he rippled and disappeared. A point of total realization gored me like a sword. I couldn't breathe. I was underwater, and I couldn't breathe. My dad was trying to kill me.

I desperately swam toward the surface, gasping. I made it, barely. I instantly drew breath from the salty sea air, which gave me some time to think. _First Zeus tries to kill me, and then my dad! The gods have turned against me! _I knew why instantly. I was the prophecy kid, and they had finally decided to destroy me.

I had no doubt in my mind. _Kronos was right! The gods are treacherous fools! _The gods had turned against me. There was only one thing to do. I began to take the painstaking journey back to the U.S. It was made difficult by the fact that the ocean seemed to want to kill me. I repeatedly went under and nearly drowned.

Nothing seemed out of place. The gods had betrayed me. The only possible course of action was to join Kronos. He was right all along. The thought spurred me forward, and I swam harder. I finally came to the beach, greeted by some surprised tourists.

"Dude!" one of them said. "This guy just walked out of the water!"

I waved them off with a pained expression. They stepped aside, and almost looked afraid.

I was about to ask why, but it became obvious at once. A glowing nonsolid-looking shadow stood before me, unobscured by the Mist. I had never seen him, but I knew who he was. Kronos.

"You see now," he hissed. "The gods have betrayed you. Join me, and I shall give you unlimited power."

Images flashed through my head. I was a leader in the new world. Kronos ruled all and had made everything better. There was no poverty. No hunger. No summer reading homework.

"So," he said, smiling slightly. "Will you join me?"

I said something that I'd regret for the rest of my life, something that I should have considered my friends for.

"Yes."

"Repeat after me," Kronos said, almost grinning. "Я, Персеус Джаксон, присоединяюсь к Вам, LordТ Кроносу, в свержении богов. Не может моя лояльность никогда дрогнуть."

I repeated the words without a trace of discomfort. Kronos was my new master. The gods would be overthrown, and all would be better.

Kronos laughed evilly, and I joined him.

**Mwahahahaha! Radical! Radical! I told you it'd be radical! Now, don't get depressed when you read this; I will keep my promise about the happy ending. Trust me. But this is as radical as it gets…**


	23. The Battle Begins, Almost

**For those who are worried about the happy ending being in jeopardy, don't worry about it. I have a nice, (possibly sappy even) happy ending in store. If you didn't understand why Percy became evil, Kronos enchanted his and Annabeth's fatal flaws to be switched and intensified. This chapter also explains why Tyson could come back. **

Athena had explained to us how Percy wouldn't be coming back in a long time. I was not happy. I mean, who wouldn't be if you were never to see a friend again?

The train had stopped at New York City. We took a taxi from there with the enchanted dollar bills (we only needed one) and took a ferry to Long Island. From there, we walked to Camp Half-Blood. Annabeth was still asleep, and Grover was carrying her under the cap.

Tyson greeted us with bright eyes. Percy was wondering how Tyson would be resurrected. Ha! I wanted to tell Percy that Tyson was a monster, for the gods' sakes! He would be reborn, because he was an archetype. He would also remember everything that happened beforehand. _I'll never be able to tell him, _I thought bitterly. All because of Hades' stupid necklace.

"Hi!" Tyson greeted us. "Where is Percy?"

"He is in the desert," I explained painfully. "Hades gave him a necklace that leeches powers from others, so he needs to draw away all the energy."

"Why not I-M him?" Tyson asked. Gee, I should have thought of that.

"You have any drachmas?" I asked him.

"Here," he handed me a golden drachma. We went into the Poseidon cabin and threw the drachma through the mist originating from the fountain in the corner.

"O goddess, accept our offering," I said. "Show me Percy Jackson."

I saw…nothing. The screen of mist was completely black. I waved my hand through the mist and the connection faded. I was worried now.

"Where do you think he is?" Grover asked anxiously.

"I don't know," A familiar voice said. I jumped and looked around.

"Ow," Annabeth said, taking off her cap and grimacing. "You didn't have to drop me."

"Annabeth! You're awake!" Grover cried.

"Well, duh." She said, frowning. "Why am I not in the Underworld? And where's Percy?"

Grover grimaced. "I'll do it," he volunteered. "You did die, but Percy got a prophecy from the Oracle deeming that he should bring you back from the Underworld."

She frowned again. "You came down…just to save me? What did Hades want as a price?"

"He wanted to throw one of us to Tartarus. We persuaded Percy to pick Tyson." Grover gestured to Tyson.

"But why is he - oh! Tyson is an archetype!" her eyes lit up. "That was brilliant!"

That was a lot, coming from her. "Tyson thought of it," I said. "I didn't tell Percy because I wanted to keep the readers in suspense."

She nodded knowingly. "Oh, yes. The readers. I heard they were devastated when I died."

"Probably," I said.

"All right," she said. "Where's Percy?"

"You do it." Grover pointed towards me.

"Percy is… gone." I pointed out grimly. "I don't know where he is. I Iris-messaged him and saw only darkness."

Before Annabeth could react, Chiron came rushing toward us, his face paler than I had ever seen it. He didn't even seem to register that Annabeth was awake. "It is Kronos' army," he said fearfully. It didn't even seem like him through the mask of fear.

"Kronos' army is approaching the camp," He said with a tremor in his voice. "They're almost here! We must ready for battle!"

"Great," I muttered to myself. "We get to be massacred by Kronos' army of monsters. Things just can't get any better."

"Come on!" Chiron gestured. We followed him to the Big House, where we outfitted ourselves with heavy Greek battle suits and weapons. I kept my spear, Annabeth picked up a sword, Tyson took a couple of javelins, and Grover acquired a shiny new set of…reed pipes.

Tyson also picked up a strange double-sided sword, which I eyed with interest. "It is called the двойной-планочный меч" he said when he noticed me eyeing it. "It is used by Cyclopes as a powerful weapon.

"Doesn't that get cumbersome?" I asked. Believe me, it did look pretty clumsy. A thick handle with two celestial bronze sword blades protruding from it? Didn't look very balanced to me. He pressed a button on the handle and the blades retracted. Convenient storage.

"Watch me," he said. He walked out of the Big House and immediately met Clarisse. "Practice fight?" he asked bluntly.

Clarisse grinned. "Sure, wheel-eye." That was a new name for Tyson, as it was the literal translation of Cyclops into English.

He opened the двойной-планочный меч and Clarisse looked at it uneasily. That weapon looked like it would _hurt._

In three seconds flat, Clarisse was down and Tyson stood over her. "Ugh," she groaned. "That will serve you well in the battle."

I couldn't believe it. Clarisse was really serious about the battle; she didn't even try to get back at Tyson.

Travis Stoll came running toward us, looking terribly panicked. He was holding one of the binoculars from the camp store. "You can see them!" he gestured with his binoculars.

He led us to Half-Blood Hill. Without the binoculars, I could see a faint outline of an army. It was huge. Tens of thousands of monsters were about to attack the camp.

I handed the binoculars to Annabeth. "Check it out," I said. She picked up the binoculars, looked through them for a couple of seconds, and fainted dead away.

Something must have surprised her terribly. I assumed that she was shocked by the sheer size of the army, but something told me that wasn't it. I looked through the binoculars and saw a huge tide of monsters. Scythian dracaenae and hellhounds made up a large portion of them.

I also saw a bunch of distinguishable monsters. Dr. Thorn was close to the front lines, bristling. Agrius and Oreius stood near the back. Even Procrustes had found his way into the army.

That wasn't what shocked me most. As soon as I saw it, I knew why Annabeth had fainted. I almost did. A black-haired figure stood right in the front, waving a diamond clear sword. As soon as I recognized him, I felt a wave of anger.

Percy Jackson.

**Hurrah! Another chapter gone! I shall renew my promise: I WILL HAVE A HAPPY ENDING!!! Don't worry about it! Remember, people, I want reviews. Lots and lots of reviews I appreciate greatly. Next chapter will be a Percy/Annabeth POV, probably.**


	24. Betrayal And Redemption

**This chapter will have multiple POV's. Just so you know. This chapter has a slight amount of romance in it. Enjoy, although it may be a little sappy/cheesy/overdramatic/some other adjective applying to fanfics. It may not even be a cliffie! You never know…**

Thalia's POV 

Annabeth got up with a _really _worried expression on her face. "What the _f(x)_?" she exclaimed.

Okay, I knew she was smart, but I had no idea why she used functional notation as an exclamation. It didn't make much sense.

She didn't even look angry. Just really, really worried. "Kronos must have bewitched him," she said to herself, as if she was trying to convince herself as well as me. "He couldn't have turned against me…It's not possible." She turned to the sky. "Why, Mr. Author, why?"

I didn't say anything to that."It's right in front of you," I proclaimed grimly. "I don't know what happened, but he's no longer on her side." I walked away to check out the army from another angle, see if there were any weaknesses. As far as I could see, there weren't.

Wait a minute.

The army before us seemed to be a mile away, but now they were already attacking. How was that possible? The whole camp seemed to be confounded with me, as they were taken by surprise.

My mind answered for me. _Kronos…has limited power over time! He used that to trick us!_ It was too late for that thought, however. The camp was already being overrun within seconds.

I had to find Annabeth…and Percy.

Annabeth's POV 

Percy wouldn't betray me…would he? I just couldn't get my mind around the fact that he had turned against me. I felt even worse than when Luke turned against me, and that was saying a lot.

Speaking of Luke, where was he? I scanned the large crowd of monsters with the binoculars Travis Stoll had given me, but there was no sign of him.

There was just Percy, walking forward with an icy looking sword in his hand, wearing a proud expression. He was starting to look paler, but his black hair was darkening. It used to be a comfortable-looking black, but now it looked like the blackness of a void. His eyes were also glowing acid green instead of sea-colored.

In a flash, the whole army was among us. I mean literally, in a flash. Kronos must have given them a boost. I threw my bronze knife into a dragon woman, who exploded into yellow powder. I retrieved the knife with a magnetic whip, forged by Tyson.

I fought like a crazy woman, sometimes throwing my knife, sometimes cracking the whip, sometimes slashing madly with the sword. The thought of Percy kept me in place. I _would _find him, and he would be good again.

I couldn't afford to be wrong. If he had sacrificed the Ophiotaurus…

I decided not to think about it. That wasn't hard, as the battle practically on top of us was occupying much of my attention. I spun and struck a hellhound in the neck, then threw my knife aimlessly. I heard a howl and a hiss of disintegration, and I knew I had hit something. I looked and saw…Dr. Thorn, almost completely gone in the wind.

I could see Thalia fighting like a demoness, spinning and swinging her spear. The sky around her was pitch black, and had a tendency to shoot deadly cloud to ground lightning at monsters, blasting them to dust and/or paralyzing them. Every now and then she'd bring down lightning on herself and destroy all the monsters around her while healing herself.

Tyson was swinging his double-bladed sword maniacally, cutting off various body parts of monsters. All that stood before him fell, even Agrius and Oreius who made the mistake of trying.

In a temporary lull between the monsters, I pulled out the binoculars and looked out from a hill. I didn't see Percy's black hair or now-acid-green eyes anywhere. I focused them further to not find Percy. _I wonder where he is,_ I thought as I removed the binoculars.

It became immediately obvious. He was right in front of me.

Percy's POV 

Annabeth stood before me. I had sought her out.

She pulled out her sword, but the expression on her face said that she _really _didn't want to use it. Her expression showed terrible pain, weakening my resolve. I brushed the thought aside contemptuously. _Kronos is for the worlds own good. Not my own!_

"Annabeth," I bowed slightly. "Long time, no see."

"Percy…" she said, not angrily. She was in pain.

I didn't have to worry about that…did I? I drove my mind from it and said, "You can join Kronos, Annabeth. The gods are treacherous; my father tried to kill me! Kronos will make everything better." I desperately hoped for her to say yes.

"No," she said, though she didn't sound entirely sure. Her voice cracked. "Percy, come back!"

"I'll take that as a negative, then." I brought my sword up slightly, and swung it. Annabeth blocked it with a swing of her own, and I stared, surprised. Her blade was barely cracked.

She noticed me staring. "You didn't hit hard," she said. "I did my best to divert the force."

I swung again, this time much harder. Her sword was cleaved in two. I put my diamond blade to her neck. "Any last words?" I asked.

A tear fell from her cheek and landed on my sword, where it glinted in the dim luminescence of my blade. "Percy, please." Her voice was full of terrible pain.

It broke my heart. Instantly, I knew that whatever I did, I would have to fight by her. My sword clattered out of my hand. "I'm sorry," I said.

Something unexpected in my head bent downward to retrieve the sword. I fought it, but it was too strong. It was consuming all my energy. I fell down to my hands and knees, panting.

_My oath to Kronos! _I thought. That was the only possible explanation. Kronos' power was fighting me, fighting against my decision. There was only one thing I could do. One thing I could do, the only way Olympus could be saved from the power of me sacrificing the Ophiotaurus.

I looked up to Annabeth and said, "Kill me."

**Another chapter gone, another cliffie passed. Sigh… Well, Percy is good again, but at what cost? If you thought that he turned too quickly, I agree. I just couldn't think of a better way to put it, as I am terrible at writing romance. Reviews, people! I want a lot of reviews before I post the next chapter.**


	25. Percy Gets His Wish

**This chapter has some romance, but you know how terrible I am at it. Not really much to say here, just enjoy!**

I stood completely stunned.

First Percy had fallen down on his hands and knees for no distinguishable reason, and then he was asking me to kill him? "Why?" I asked.

He groaned. "I can't resist…_his_…power forever."

_His_ power. He must have been talking about Kronos. Kronos must have enchanted him to stay on his side no matter what. But I just couldn't kill him. "I can't," I said. "There has to be another way."

He was breathing hard. "I sacrificed the Ophiotaurus," he said, his voice haggard. "Kronos will make me destroy Olympus if you don't. You have to!" He sounded desperate.

"I can't." I said, sounding like a broken record. "I can't!"

"You have to!" he said, grabbing my wrist. "Please."

His voice softened my heart. But I couldn't kill him, under no circumstances whatsoever. "There has to be another way!" I told him.

"No," he said. "This is the only way. Please."

If anyone else was watching this conversation winks at readers they would be forced to assume that I cared about Percy more than I did Olympus. If they ran that theory by me, I would have to say that they were right. I did care about him, a lot. "Percy, I…" I began.

He got up, interrupting my thoughts. He also picked up the sword and held it like he was going to run me through with it. He walked forward, pointing the sword at me. I backed away. He kept walking towards me, and I kept backing away. Something seemed to hold him back from killing me. Probably himself.

I just kept going backward. That is, until I ran into a tree. We were in the forest of the camp, and the army that was right in front of us a minute ago was nowhere to be seen. I fell to the ground. A grotesque expression crossed Percy's face, and his eyes glowed an acidic green. He brought his sword down.

I rolled out of the way, but the blade nicked my arm. It felt like it was on fire. Blood streamed from the cut. I screamed, and the sword dropped to the ground. Percy leaned on a tree to support him, and looked truly sorry.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "It's just that-" He groaned, and fell to the ground. "Kronos won't let me go."

I reached for the small canteen of nectar I kept in my pocket, and took a short draught from it. My arm almost instantly felt better. I hoisted Percy up by the wrists and leaned him on the tree. He was still breathing hard.

"Please," he said, his voice hoarse. "Kill me."

I couldn't do it. He was causing me even more pain. He was pleading, not for his life, but for his death to save Olympus. That took a lot of bravery. I didn't answer, but I hoped he would get the message.

He didn't. He put more pleading into his voice, and I was sure that he was trying to get to me. "Annabeth," he said. "If you meant what you said before, then kill me." If he was trying to get to me, he was pretty good at it. My eyes filled with tears.

"I…I…" I couldn't finish my sentence. I steadied Percy as he almost fell over.

"Please," he said again. I never knew one word could cause so much pain. 

I didn't even consider it. He probably knew that, too. His voice interrupted my thoughts, "You don't, then. If you did, you would listen to me. You lied, the night you fell." If someone who knew nothing about us were watching us, they would have no idea what he was talking about. I knew exactly.

The tears fell now, cool on my cheeks. Percy wiped them away with a strange expression on his face. He looked really, really sad. "If you won't," he started. "I will have no choice but to-"

"No!" I cried. He hadn't even finished his sentence, but I knew what he was talking about. He would kill himself if I wouldn't do it for him. "Don't!" I collapsed onto him, sobbing. He looked really uncomfortable between the tree and me.

He patted my back awkwardly. But I was inconsolable. I just kept crying. He calmed me down enough to ask, "What's wrong?"

"Don't kill yourself," I sobbed, aware of how awkward that sounded. "I love you!"

I don't know what made me say that, it just came out. Percy just looked mildly surprised. "I wasn't going to kill myself. If you mean what you said, why don't you listen to me?" he asked. Such a simple question. I wish the answer were likewise.

I was relieved to hear him say that he wouldn't kill himself. A feeling of panic seized me. If he weren't going to kill himself, what would he do?

"Well?" he pressed. "Do you mean it?"

I _did _mean it. With all of my heart. But as far as I could see, words wouldn't persuade him. I did the unthinkable.

I kissed him tenderly on the lips. His eyes widened with surprise. Once he seemed to reassure himself that this was real, he returned the kiss feebly. I broke away after what seemed hours.

The sounds of battle were still in the forest, so apparently not. "Well, that was…refreshing." He commented, the signs of fighting Kronos almost gone. "You do mean it, then."

I was too tired to say anything. "Back to the present," Percy said. "Kill me."

"I can't."

This time, he seemed to take no as an answer. He moved his lips in what seemed to be silent prayer. I stood still, waiting.

A sword appeared out of the air. Percy smiled, as if he had asked for it. The sword then did something that would make me hate it for the rest of my life. I know that sounds weird, hating a disembodied sword.

It decapitated Percy.

"No!" I cried. Too late. The sword fell to the ground, bloodstained. I couldn't stand to look at it. Tears fell once again from my eyes, unfailingly.

I saw something that made me even sadder, with a sliver of anger. There was an owl emblazoned on the sword.

**If you readers have some sense, you should be able to realize what is about the sword that I didn't directly point out. Reviews, and the next chapter will be posted. Relax, there will be a happy ending.**


	26. Optimism, People

**Hi all, and welcome to the next chapter! This chapter might be an anti-depressant, as the title suggests; I tried, people! Behold the next chapter, which is a Thalia/Annabeth POV.**

I don't know how long I sat in the forest, crying and crying and crying…well you get the idea. The sounds of battle faded around me, but the tears just kept falling. A disembodied sword had killed Percy. He had prayed for Athena, my mother, to kill him with it. She did.

My tears soaked the ground. Every time I opened my eyes I would see blood on the owl-emblazoned sword, and a fresh wave of tears would close my eyes again. Soon, the forest was silent, devoid of any movement. I didn't really notice.

I sat kneeling over Percy's body for what seemed hours. His head was still barely connected to his neck, but I couldn't bear to look at it. I felt like I'd be here forever, mourning Percy. I wonder if he felt like this when I died.

A soft patter of footsteps interrupted my grief. I turned to see Thalia, staring in absolute shock at Percy's corpse. "You killed him?" she asked, still shocked (no pun intended).

"No," I said, choking down a sob. "He prayed for Athena to, and she did." I pointed to the bloodstained sword. Thalia examined it carefully.

"It says something on it," Thalia said, still looking at the sword. "It is 'Do not despair. Remember what happened to you, and let it give you hope.' Do you think that refers to you dying?"

"Maybe," I said, wiping my eyes. "Chiron will never let me go, though." The thought saddened me once more, and a couple of tears leaked out.

"Annabeth," Thalia said, a puzzled expression on her face. "Why did he pray for Athena to kill him?"

"He was begging me to kill him," I said. "I refused."

"But why?" Thalia asked.

A strange expression twisted my face and I lied, "I don't know. He became good again, for some reason."

Thalia was eyeing my like she was sure that I was lying. She didn't say anything, though. She then changed the subject. "We defeated the monstrous army, but barely. The second front is approaching, and Chiron has sounded the retreat. We have to flee to Olympus."

The first thing I felt when she said this was surprise. How could the campers have defeated that HUGE monstrous army? The next thing I felt was hopelessness. If there was a second front, we had no chance. We had to go to the gods for help, which struck me as cowardly.

"Come on, let's go," Thalia said, grabbing my wrist.

She led me out of the forest, until I remembered. "Stop." I said. "We need to get Percy."

"Just leave him there," Thalia said dismissively. "He betrayed us, remember?"

"No!" I cried, reflexively. Thalia frowned at me. "He came back. He deserves our gratitude. He was fighting Kronos' power."

"All right," Thalia said, disgruntled. I don't think she believed me about Percy becoming good again. I didn't say anything.

We picked his body up carefully. Thalia and I carried it out of the forest, where Chiron greeted us. "What the fruitcake?" he exclaimed. "You killed him?" he stared in amazement at us.

"No," I said. "I'll explain later, after we get to Olympus."

Thalia's POV

Chiron looked troubled. Well, then again, he almost always looked troubled these days. He beckoned us off to our cabins, and bade us to pack. We laid Percy on his bed in the Poseidon cabin, until there could be a proper place prepared. I opened the door to leave, but I heard a sniffle behind me and I turned.

Annabeth was crying. I would've comforted her, or told her to snap out of it, but something told me not to move from my spot. Annabeth didn't know I was standing just outside the door, peeking through a crack between the door and the wall. What she did next surprised me so much that I almost gave myself away.

She kissed him on the forehead, and reached for her pocket. She retrieved something from her pocket, something greenish. A seaweed chain. She tucked it around his neck and murmured something inaudible. She turned toward the door, her expression hardening. She must have seen me.

I tried to close the door, but she burst through it, fuming. "What did you see?" she hissed. She looked murderous.

"N-nothing," I stammered. I had never seen her this angry.

Her anger waned as quickly as it had come up. "Don't tell anyone," she said. "If you do, I will _kill _you."

I didn't need any further incentive. I had a sneaking suspicion about why Percy may have come back, but if I ran it by Annabeth, she'd probably try to strangle me. I kept silent, and went to pack.

I packed my stuff, and left my cabin with a light backpack. Annabeth did the same. A booming voice echoed through the camp. "All campers to the Big House for emergency transportation!" It was Chiron, announcing that we were leaving to Olympus. I wondered how we would get there.

It became obvious after we filed into the Big House. We would have to be in contact with Mr. D as he transported himself to Olympus. I didn't like it, and neither did Mr. D. I could hear him complaining to Chiron, like the brat he was. I still didn't see how we would fit the whole camp all touching Mr. D.

Chiron made that clear. "We will be moving in groups. The Hermes, Apollo, Demeter, Zeus, and Athena cabins will be going first.

We all tentatively walked toward Mr. D, who was not looking happy. Mr. D readied his fingers for snapping, and then Connor Stoll got a brilliant idea.

"Hog pile!"

We all tackled Mr. D as we were transported to Olympus. He was NOT happy. Still, Chiron must have forbidden him from punishing us, because he just walked off grumbling and cursing.

I saw Hades appear a few seconds afterward, along with a couple of ghoul bodyguards. There was one person, however, that wasn't a ghoul. Or a god. One person.

…

**I decided to try this. I don't know how effective it really is in terms of cliffies, but I just was trying something new. I want reviews before I post the next chapter, remember. Reviews! It might be fairly obvious who this "person" is, but oh well.**


	27. I Live To Fight Again

**Welcome to the next chapter! This will explain why this person is here, but don't let the news sadden you. This chapter shall have a MAJOR cliffie! Enjoy!**

Annabeth fainted as soon as she saw me. I didn't blame her. Hades had brought me back just so I could fight in the battle. I would have to go back to being dead afterward. No doubt Annabeth wouldn't like that.

Thalia caught Annabeth before she hit the ground, but as soon as she saw me, she fainted too. Gods, what was with girls and fainting?

Poseidon, who was standing behind them, caught them both, but then he fainted. Gods! They all fell to the ground. Poseidon immediately got up and ran towards me. "What the fruitcake?" he exclaimed.

I clapped my head to my forehead. What was with gods and fruitcakes? "Oh my Titans," Poseidon said, looking stunned. "Brother, you brought him back?"

"Only for the battle," Hades said sourly. "Why does everyone think I'm getting sentimental when I bring one person-"

"Three people," Athena interrupted. She was beside Poseidon, wearing full Greek battle armor. "Your daughter, my daughter, and him." She pointed at me.

"No wonder," Hades said. "I can't risk bringing anyone else back, or everybody will think I'm sentimental."

"Relax," Athena said sweetly, pinching Hades' cheek affectionately. He looked unnerved. My dad and I just stared. What in Tartarus was she thinking?

I was thinking something along the lines of a new affair on Olympus when there was a flash and Athena became Persephone, who giggled. The real Athena came up behind her, grabbing her shoulders. She looked like she was going to yell at Persephone for impersonating her, but Hades snapped his fingers. "Hands off!" Athena's hands just lifted off Persephone's shoulders.

"O-kay," I murmured. "I'll just stay out of this." Hades and Persephone were glaring at Athena, and she was glaring back. I left before things could get violent. Annabeth and Thalia were still lying on the ground, unconscious. I took both of their wrists and dragged them off.

Behind me, I heard a scream and a roar. I winced. Thalia opened her eyes. "Oh my gods," she said, getting up. "You're alive!" She gave me an awkward hug.

"Yep," I said grimly. "I'm back, for now."

Her expression darkened. "What do you mean, for now?"

"Hades only let me come back for the battle," I said. Thalia gasped. "I have to go back to the Underworld after."

"Annabeth won't like that," said Thalia, blinking. I could have sworn that her eyes were wet. She turned away. Annabeth got up, a moment I had been dreading. I would have to tell her.

"Percy!" she cried. She wrapped her arms around me and kissed me.

Now, I had no problem with that, but I knew someone else who would. "Oh damn," I said under my breath after breaking away from her. Athena _and_ Poseidon were right behind Annabeth.

I readied myself to get blasted back to the Underworld, but nothing happened. Athena was staring in absolute, complete shock, and my dad had an eyebrow raised. I groaned. I probably would never hear the end of it from him. Or my mom, once she found out.

Annabeth turned to see what I was staring at, and just about jumped out of her shoes. She looked at the ground guiltily. Poseidon gestured. "Perseus, come with me."

He led me to a secluded spot inside a white building. "Of all the girls in the world," he started. "Why her?"

I stayed silent.

"All right," he said, looking disappointed. "You better get ready for the battle, which I expect will begin in a few hours. Take a spare trident if you want." He left.

I decided to take his advice and headed toward the armory. I had no idea where it was; it just seemed to draw me toward it. I came inside to find a miniature archery range, some sword fighting training grounds, and various other things. Bows, swords, spears, and even some special stuff hung from the walls. There were a couple of spare lightning bolts and tridents, with a sign above them saying, PERMISSION OF PATRON GOD REQUIRED. I took a trident and swung it around. It seemed to fit perfectly in my hand and made a satisfying sounding swish. I also took a sword and a sheath and clipped it to my waist.

Zeus had a _really, really _long lightning bolt. I mean _really _long. Did I mention that it was _really _long? Zeus was in fifteen-foot tall mode, and he was spinning the thunderbolt. Tyson was below him, showing him moves with a double-sided sword. Apparently, Zeus was trying a new style.

Apollo was shooting targets at the archery range. He would nock like ten arrows at once, and all of them would hit the bull's-eye, which looked like a real eye. A sign above the entrance said that it was a Minotaur eye. Go figure.

Ares was at the sword fighting area, thrashing everyone he fought. I went over there to look closer. Red dusty rocks covered the area, and it looked like Ares had designed it. Not a good thing. Athena was the one to go to for architecture.

"Ah, it's you," He laughed good-naturedly. What the heck was wrong with him? Maybe the upcoming battle had cheered him up. "Practice fight?"

I got the feeling that wasn't his entire intention. Still, I couldn't back down. "You're on," I said, bringing out the trident.

Ares smiled. He actually smiled. "Now I can show Poseidon how pathetic that that trident of his is." He muttered under his breath.

He pulled out his two-handed sword. I took the trident and slashed it toward his face, the spear tips flickering with bluish green light. He blocked and snarled.

I know, it's hard to envision fighting with a trident. It's not one of those weapons that look like they're made to fight with swords. It just felt right in my hands.

He threw out his sword towards me. The trident seemed to speed me up and I dodged to the side. The sword was caught between two of the spear points. As fast as thought, I twisted the trident, which jerked the sword out of Ares' hands. I vaulted forward with the flat end of the trident and struck Ares right in the forehead. I could see double images of me in his eyes. He fell to the ground, stunned.

"Urgh," he groaned. "You cheated!"

I just walked away, and was greeted by my dad. He looked nervous. "The Titans are approaching," he said. "Immortals may not be able to attack heroes directly, but they can attack other immortals. He gripped the air and the trident appeared.

"Then there's nothing for it," I said, rubbing my hands together. I remembered Hercules doing the same thing and stopped myself. I noticed Annabeth walking toward me from the side. My dad met my eyes, and he seemed to understand what I needed. He left.

"Annabeth," I said quietly.

Her smile faded. "Yeah?"

"I can't stay forever. Hades will take me back after the battle."

"Well, that'll probably be soon," A strange sounding voice interrupted me. I turned to see an old man gripping a trident. Not my dad, but someone else. He was huge. The gods were like fifteen feet tall. This guy was more like thirty feet tall. _He was the one that tried to drown me!_ I realized with a jolt. It was a Titan.

I gulped. Oceanus.

**Ah, another cliffie. Sorry if Thalia and Grover weren't anywhere in here, I just didn't feel like writing them in here. Oceanus was one of the original twelve titans, and he ruled the sea before Poseidon. Poseidon took it away from him, so he _really_ doesn't like Poseidon. See how that plays out in... the next chapter! At least five reviews required.**


	28. Athena Throws Reference Books

**This chapter has some random stuff in it, I was bored and decided to put some more humor in here. This ends at a somewhat cliffie, and it may surprise you…**

"Oh my gods," Annabeth exclaimed.

The huge Oceanus answered. "Soon, miss, it will be 'Oh my Titans?'" He waved his trident aimlessly. I was sure he was begging to attack us, but the ancient rules mentioned before by Chiron held him back.

I was about to throw my trident (I know that sounds weird) at the huge Titan's face, but Annabeth grabbed my arm and locked eyes with me. If I attacked, he would be able to attack back with all his might. Only the gods could fight him without consequence.

"Ha," he sniggered contentedly. "Cowards,"

I was itching to throw my trident, but the thought of the ancient laws kept me in place. If I did, both of us would be dead.

"There you would be wrong, Oceanus." A cool voice said behind me. I turned to see Hades with a misty black sword. It didn't even look solid. Spirits of the dead cried out from it.

Hades grabbed a bronze helmet I recognized, and set it on his head. He immediately became invisible. Obviously, the helm of darkness. Oceanus just cackled.

The black sword shimmered into existence, going right through Oceanus' shoulder. _Wait a minute, through?_ Yes, it had gone right through him. It was just an illusion! I immediately chucked the trident. Sure enough, it went right through him.

He took his trident and swung it toward me. I made no move to dodge. The trident slammed me back into the wall of a nearby building, leaving me dazed. How could he have hit me? I couldn't hit him!

Hades looked confused, too. Oceanus took advantage of his not moving and whacked him with the trident. He flew a couple of feet back and crushed a marble pillar to dust. He was in fifteen-foot tall mode, remember.

Oceanus laughed and strode toward him. Hades got up, struggling, but Oceanus knocked him back down. Ichor flowed from a gash in Hades' arm. Oceanus raised his trident over his head, and Hades threw the misty sword right at Oceanus, point-blank. It flew right through where his heart should've been.

Oceanus snickered. He barreled toward Hades. I threw the trident again (Don't ask me how I got it back, it just came!) and it went right through the smoke. Oceanus turned toward me.

"Foolish boy," Oceanus said. "The Titans have unlocked a new power, projecting their strength! I can hurt you, or him-" he pointed at Hades "or any other that opposes me. But you – you cannot hurt me."

That was impossible…wasn't it? Annabeth was shaking her head hopelessly. Oceanus pointed the trident at us, the sharp ends. "Now you die, foolish son of Poseidon." He stabbed forward.

I don't know exactly how I did this, but I reacted before he even moved. I grabbed Annabeth and rolled. The trident demolished a building behind me. It had good reach, considering it was like FORTY FEET LONG!

Okay, I'm done panicking. I had to get away from him, fast. We ran, and ran, and ran. Oceanus didn't seem particularly interested in catching us, but come on. He was striding leisurely and catching up.

I ran right into Athena, who was looking agitated. "They're here," she said, half to herself. She saw Oceanus, and her eyes narrowed grimly. She took out something that looked like an AK-47 assault rifle and shot a spray of celestial bronze bullets at Oceanus. They all went right through him.

She groaned, and pulled out a bunch of acid green throwing knives. She threw one, and Oceanus dodged. The knife hit a lamp, which immediately disintegrated. Ouch.

Athena pulled out more knives, and threw them all at Oceanus, who had stopped moving altogether. They all went right through him. She looked desperate. She pulled out a really big book out of her pocket (don't ask me how it fit, I don't know!) and threw it up at Oceanus' face. It went right through. As it fell, I saw the words on the back: _Trust Yellow Book_.

Okay, I'm not worrying about that right now.

Athena was pale. I could see in her eyes, so much like Annabeth's: she had only one option left. "Рассеяйте!" she cried out. Oceanus disappeared in a puff of black smoke.

"Is he…gone?" Annabeth's voice behind me asked. She was cowering behind me? ME?

"Not for long," Athena said forbiddingly. "I can only dispel him for a couple of minutes. His body is still in Tartarus, but his spirit lies here. Come on." She beckoned and we ran.

We came to the hall of the gods, where sounds of scuffle ensued. I opened the doors and saw three huge Titans and an army of monsters. I could tell the Titans were Kronos, Oceanus, and a big guy that could be Coeus. They were smiting all within reach, and the gods included.

Zeus was hopelessly hurling thunderbolts, but they all passed through Kronos, who grinned. Kronos looked like a void of darkness, with a few body parts floating around. An eye, some toes, and a couple of fingers. Yuck.

Artemis and Apollo were shooting arrows at monsters. The army was quickly being decimated, but they could do nothing about the Titans. Athena was throwing acidic knives and reference books at monsters. The reference books seemingly did as much damage as the knives.

Kronos was grinning widely. I don't know how I knew that, considering he had no teeth. He conjured a black sword out of the air and walked toward Zeus, who backed away. Oceanus approached us again. He pulled out the trident and pointed it at Annabeth and me. "Die, boy." He said maliciously.

He jabbed forward, and a tremendous surge of energy seemed to fountain inside me. He was going to kill both Annabeth and me. The energy turned to rage, which interchanged with energy again. Time slowed down.

Oceanus had a grin on his face, and the trident was inches from my chest. It stopped. The energy inside me seemed to pulse. Oceanus collapsed, and Kronos' eye (he had only one eye at the time, remember) widened. My eyes glowed and hair began to fly. Annabeth collapsed next to me, but I was too encompassed in the power to notice.

Kronos approached me. The time-slow thing had stopped, and he was walking toward me, sword in hand. Everybody else watched, mesmerized. Kronos brought the sword down on me.

The sword was about to split open my skull when the power, dredged from deep inside my being, cascaded out. "Разрушьте их!" The words flew from my mouth. Kronos was blasted back, and disintegrated into black dust. The entire monstrous army screeched and was shattered. When I say shattered, I mean _shattered. _The monsters broke into pieces.

Oceanus and Coeus likewise disintegrated. Exhaustion overcame me, and I fell to the ground. I knew I was dead.

**Another chapter gone, readers. What is the source of Percy's newfound power? How come the Titans were unable to be hit by conventional weapons? All these questions and more will be answered in…. The next chapter! Do I sound like some sort of advertiser saying that? I shall tell you this: Percy is really, truly dead. He is dead. Hear me? HE IS DEAD!**


	29. Hopelessness

**Behold, the next chapter! It is in Annabeth's point of view. Sorry if I updated late today, but I read Artemis Fowl I, Maximum Ride I, and like sixty pages of another book today. Therefore, this chapter may seem slightly rushed. Enjoy!**

I woke up to find all the gods, excepting Hades, sitting on their thrones. They were whispering to each other worryingly. As soon as they saw my eyes open, my mom rushed over to me. "When you went out, how did you feel?"

I remembered when I had collapsed. I had felt drained. Percy was using some sort of power against Oceanus. I told them this. Athena narrowed her eyes.

I remembered something else. Where the heck was Percy? I asked them so. Poseidon's face was grim. "He's dead."

I was so surprised that I forgot to turn into a puddle of tears. "What happened?"

"He was drained of all his energy," my mom said, "Don't let it bother you. Hades would have taken him back anyway."

Oh yeah. I had forgotten about that. Still, I was confused. And a bit depressed. "Why? What happened?"

"I don't know," Athena said, surprising me. There weren't a lot of things she didn't know. "My best guess is that it had something to do with sacrificing the Ophiotaurus."

"Huh?" Percy had told me about sacrificing the Ophiotaurus. He regretted it.

"The power was originally intended to destroy Olympus. Being killed and resurrected must have reversed it."

Ah. The obscure laws of death never cease to confuse me. "What happened to the Titans?"

"We don't know. They cannot be dead, but they have been dispelled. By my estimation, for some several thousands of years." My mother said. What a relief.

There was a crack and Hades appeared. He looked heartily confused. Not something you see every day. He ran up to Poseidon and whispered something in his ear. Poseidon's eyes widened. "Are you sure?" I took him to say.

Hades nodded. Poseidon whispered something back, and Hades' face turned red with rage. "HOW DARE YOU CALL ME A MIDGET? JUST BECAUSE I AM YOUNGER THAN YOU DOESN'T MEAN I AM A MIDGET! THIS ASPECT OF DEATH HAS ESCAPED ME, FOR THE TITANS' SAKE!"

Okay…

I would leave this to the gods to argue it out. They didn't even notice me leaving. As soon as I left the hall of the gods, the tears came. I had lost Percy, again. And from what Hades said, I wouldn't be getting him back.

Wait a minute.

He said that 'this aspect of death had escaped him'. Apparently, something was with Percy, something that was blocking him from living again. Besides the normal tendency. Even Hades seemed unable to bring Percy back.

My curiosity got the better of me. I peeked through the door, unnoticed. Hades was still yelling at Poseidon, who had apparently called him a midget again. "FOR THE TITANS' SAKES! I AM NOT A MIDGET!"

I was about to give up hope of hearing anything interesting, when my mother interrupted. "I have…a possible answer."

All heads turned toward her. She was impassive. "I think…sacrificing the Ophiotaurus has taken its toll. Someone who had done such an evil deed is bound to the Underworld. He was able to escape when you brought him back before the battle, because the power resided in him. Now that the power has been used up, he will be trapped in your kingdom-" she motioned to Hades. "Forever."

What? Impossible!

Hades had seemingly the same reaction. Zeus whispered something into his ear, and he turned an angry red. "WHAT IN TARTARUS IS WRONG WITH YOU? I AM NOT A MIDGET!"

Athena said, "You should know about this. You _are_ the Lord of the Dead."

Hades turned to her. "WHAT IS WITH YOU PEOPLE?"

She didn't even flinch. "Think about it, Lord Hades."

He was about to make another angry comment, I'm sure, when she interrupted him. "Just do it!" she said harshly.

Hades closed his eyes and appeared to be deep in thought. They abruptly opened. "Athena is right," he said, glaring at her. "As usual."

Her face twitched, and I could tell she was struggling not to give Hades a smug look. "Can he be brought back?"

"Um…." All eyes turned on Hades. "I think…if the Ophiotaurus was resurrected…he would be able to come back. And that's not going to happen in the next two or three millennia."

I shut the crack in the door that I had opened, tears streaming. I would never, ever see him again. Even Hades couldn't get him back. It was hopeless.

**And there you are. This is NOT the end of the story. If it were, I would be breaking my promise. I keep promises, trust me. There is a happy ending. However, Verop doesn't like happy endings, so I decided to have a poll: Who wants to have an alternate unhappy ending after I write the happy one? Put in your vote with your reviews. Best of five wins!**


	30. One Sound Can Make A Difference

**New chapter, people! Now the story is finishing up, and this chapter might raise your spirits even higher in hopes of a happy ending. Wait for the end, a somewhat cliffie. Sorry for the abnormally short chappie, but I also wrote a oneshot, Exiled, today.**

The tears came, again and again. If you looked at my life, you'd be able to fill an ocean with my tears. I kept losing people I loved. Again and again. It would never cease. This time was no different.

The gods kept arguing about who was and wasn't a midget, while I left, crying silently. I hid my face in a hood and stared at the ground. I was walking aimlessly when I ran right into…Mr. D.

"Watch it, Annie Bell," he said. Always getting my name wrong. I was too sad to complain. I trudged off miserably.

I could keep in stride until I died of starvation or thirst, and I wouldn't notice. I would just keep going. So depressing.

I ran into Thalia. She told me to snap out of it. I just walked away, tears still falling. I wonder if the spirits in the Fields of Punishment felt like this. Eternal pain.

Thalia followed me, trying to offer words of comfort. I didn't listen. Life was seeming to become a blur of sadness…

I snapped out of it when Thalia shocked me with her finger. "What was that for?" I snapped. Thalia just looked at me sadly.

"We are going to go back to camp," she said. "Mr. D's century is up. We get a new director."

That made me feel better, a lot better. Probably made Mr. D feel better, too.

"Who's the new director?" I asked anxiously. I hoped it was someone good, unlike that jerk Tantalus who filled in for Chiron.

"No one," she answered. "Chiron is taking up the post, as well as being activities director. That's how it was before Mr. D came, Chiron told me."

That cheered me up significantly. It was better to have Chiron for both of those posts than to have Dionysus for one of them.

"All right, come on," Thalia gestured. "Iris has set up a portal for us."

I assumed it was just like an Iris-message, only larger. I was right. The swirling rainbow of colors temporarily blinded me as I approached. It was suspended flat over the sky, with a little diving board over it. Apparently, Iris wanted us to have a little fun.

Thalia didn't look happy. I mean, come on. She was the daughter of Zeus! Why in Tartarus was she afraid of heights?

Thalia jumped first. She screamed and fell into the portal. Me? I wasn't that fussed, really. I just jumped in silently.

I felt like the world was churning color-wise around me. Vivid colors surrounded me for a second, and I found myself on Half-Blood Hill, along with a couple of harried looking campers. I immediately went to my cabin, which was empty. My siblings must not have gotten here yet.

I sat down and the thought of Percy came to my mind. It would probably haunt me for the rest of my life. I left the cabin and all its bittersweet memories. Why? Dinner.

The dinner was all right, I guess. We were having some barbecue with strawberries. Not a good combination. Now that Dionysus was gone, his kids were to tend the strawberry fields. They enjoyed it.

I picked up my glass, about to tell it what I wanted, when a stray thought sailed through my mind. I didn't even realize I said it out loud.

"Blue Coke."

My eyes filled with tears when I saw it. I hid my face and took a sip. It tasted just like normal Coke. Not that that made me feel any better.

I walked back to my cabin unaccompanied. I cried myself silently to sleep. My dream was kind of bittersweet. I died, but I got to see Percy again…

I woke up and stayed awake for a while, brooding. I tried to think about architecture, but I couldn't focus it in my mind. I half-subconsciously strode over, past the camp borders, to the beach. It always calmed Percy down. Maybe I could get some peace.

I sat on the smooth sand, thinking. _What do I do? What do I do?_ It wouldn't get out of my mind. What would Percy say? He would tell me to pull it together.

A figure rose up from the salty sea spray. I flinched. A Nereid.

_Do not despair, Annabeth._ She said in my mind._ Death is eternity. You will see him again. Meanwhile, he sends his regards._ She dematerialized.

_Apparently, he has no regards,_ I thought bitterly. Something else happened that change my mind. Something touched my cheek. I stiffened, looking for something solid. But then I realized, it was an invisible hand, caressing my cheek. I smiled slightly and immediately fell asleep.

Something interrupted me from my peaceful slumber. Something that made me feel like I should jump around like an overcaffeinated monkey. On steroids. One sound, one sound that made all the difference.

"Moooooooo!"

**Hello, readers! Well, there you are. The Ophiotaurus has risen again. It is the Ophiotaurus, by the way. Not a stray cow. So there. I want some reviews, people, before I even start the next chapter.**


	31. A Gift And A Curse

**Hello, readers, and welcome to the next chapter! There is not much to say here, just read on! Annabeth (holder of POV) might seem slightly OOC in this chapter, but I did that for good effect. Enjoy!**

At first I didn't give the stray moo a thought. Why did it matter? How wrong I was.

I looked and saw… a cow. A cow with a serpent tail. The Ophiotaurus! I probably would have fainted right then and there, but the Ophiotaurus splashed my face. That shook me slightly. I was still stunned.

"Oh. My. Gods. " I murmured to myself. This wasn't possible…was it? Maybe the stress was causing madness. I felt the water on my face. Apparently not.

Before I could think, a foreign word leapt from my mouth. "Драхма!" I cried. My empty hand shimmered, and a golden drachma appeared. Instantly, I felt like a knife had been plunged through my chest. My energy was fading.

I fell to my knees, panting. I thought I would have died, if it were not for Percy's presence. It wrapped around me like a blanket, spreading warmth through my entire body. I felt like I had taken a good draught of nectar. I threw the drachma through the sea spray, yelling, "Lord Hades!"

The mist shimmered, and there appeared Hades, sitting in his throne and muttering to himself. Something about midgets. He then noticed me.

He started to say something, but I cut him off. He looked displeased, but the thought of Percy coming back held me in place. "Lord Hades," I began. "The Ophiotaurus is here."

He got out of his throne. "What? Impossible!"

I pointed at an angle that he could see, at the Ophiotaurus. "Right there, Lord Hades."

"But-but," he said. "How?"

"You _are_ Lord of the Dead," I said, quoting my mother. "You should know about this."

He gnashed his teeth. Maybe that wasn't such a smart thing to say. "Think about it," I said, using the same tone I used on Cerberus.

He actually listened to me! Maybe my mom had taught him a lesson.

He opened his eyes and said, "The Ophiotaurus wasn't destroyed by a truly malevolent force. That is probably why it has resurrected now."

I nodded. _Now, to the point._ "So…" I said, trying to sound casual. "Can you bring Percy back?"

His calm demeanor immediately changed. "Why you impudent little…" he started. He stopped as if someone else was watching him. "Yes, of course. But I want something in return."

"Anything," I said. That was the truth.

A spirit of the dead walked up to Hades' throne and whispered something to him. I focused on it. The face was difficult to recognize, but I saw it. Percy!

Hades grinned. I mean, he actually grinned. _That _would probably never happen again. Percy must have suggested something good for him _and _me. Right?

The words came out of my mouth before the thought was even fully formed in my head. "What is it?"

Hades gave me an evil smirk. That looked more normal. "Your friend will be arriving shortly. You'll find out. It is not what is given to me, but what is done to you as a price. He won't stay asleep for long. " With that, he cut the connection.

The air shimmered in front of me, and Percy appeared in my arms. He opened his eyes, while mine filled with tears. I had never expected to see those eyes again…

"Is there something special about my eyes?" he asked mildly.

_How did he know that?_

He twisted his expression slightly and said in a falsetto voice, "How did he know that?" He laughed. "I won't tell you, Annabeth."

My first reaction was being slightly miffed, but then I was surprised. How _did _he know that? And why wouldn't he tell me?

"I won't tell you, Annabeth, because then the readers will not know. The Author has given me a little job: don't tell you."

Hmm. A difficult case. Well, there was a way to crack any lock, and I knew the key to this one. I practically tackled him with a kiss and knocked him into the water. "Please?" I begged. I know, I wasn't being myself. It was just one of those things I just felt like I _needed_ to know.

He hesitated. I caressed his cheek and whispered, "Please?"

I felt like Aphrodite or one of her kids, trying to charm him into telling me. A flicker of doubt entered my mind. This was not I. Maybe something else would work.

I grabbed his shoulders and, in my silkiest and most dangerous voice, inherited from my mother, asked, "Are you going to tell me?"

He hesitated again. "I…I guess…"

"What is it?" I asked in my dangerous voice.

"I can read minds." He said simply. "Hades meant it as a sort of trial for you. It's reading emotions _and_ minds."

He was lying. He had to be lying.

"No, I am not lying," he said, a smile tugging at his lips.

I looked up at the sky and screamed for all it was worth, "NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!"

**This, readers, was the original end of the story. There is one thing, one thing that I could possibly do. If I gain at least five reviews begging for the next chapter, I'll write it. It will feature…what would've happened at the Battle of Olympus if Percy weren't there (an alternate unhappy ending) ! BTW, I'm sorry if you don't consider this a happy-ish ending, but I do. So I kept my promise. **


	32. What If?

**WARNING: Do not read this chapter if you are easily depressed. It features what would have happened if Percy weren't at the battle of Olympus, right at the point that he would've interfered. It does NOT have a happy ending. Don't read it if you want a happy ending. The last chapter, hopefully, did that enough for you. This chapter is a third person POV. One more thing: I am not familiar with some of the terminology of this website. So could someone explain what a flame is?**

Kronos had his black sword pointed right at Zeus' face. "Yield." Kronos said, his floating body parts seeming to quiver in excitement.

The entire room seemed to freeze. Apollo and Artemis had their bows up, arrows nocked, but they did not shoot. Athena's knives and reference books stayed still, and even the monsters of the army took a break to see Kronos menacing his son.

Zeus looked remarkably calm. "No."

Kronos' one floating eye seemed to twist in rage. "Then I will have no choice to-"

"We're immortal, my father." Zeus drove the point home.

Kronos put his disembodied fingers to where his chin should have been. "Ah, but there is another power we Titans have gained." His eye seemed to brighten. "Ваше мнение мое!" he roared. Zeus seemed to stiffen and said, "I surrender."

The whole room stared in shock. "Good," Kronos said. "Come, to Othrys." He waved his hand, and Olympus was blasted to rubble. Crumbled white buildings and pillars gave it the look of being ransacked by an evil maniac. Which it was. The surroundings around them seemed to shimmer, and all of the gods and Titans were back at Mount Othrys.

The obsidian palace rose up into the sky like a towering black mountain. The insignificant light coming from an eternal sunset gave the walls a metallic luster. The ground below it was grainy and completely dark. Aphrodite shuddered as she set foot on the ground.

"General!" Kronos cried into the darkness of the mountain. Atlas had been barely noticeable next to the swirling black mist and the immense castle.

"Yes, my lord?" Atlas replied, still struggling under his burden.

"Relief at last." He pointed to Aphrodite. "Let the weakest take this burden first."

Aphrodite looked insulted. So did Ares. Neither could do anything. Two monstrous guards took Aphrodite by the arm, who was now sobbing. They dragged her to the mountaintop. "Take it," said Kronos.

"No! Don't make me do this! I'm wrecking my dress already!" Aphrodite bawled.

"Too bad." The Titans laughed, and Oceanus pushed her forward with his trident. Aphrodite braced herself on one knee, and put her hands to the sky. She screamed, and immediately lowered her hands.

"HURRY UP ALREADY!" The Titan General Atlas cried out. "I HAVE TO USE THE BATHROOM!"

Oceanus jabbed her with the trident, and she shrieked. "Fine!" She brought her hands up to the burden. Atlas immediately slipped out. Aphrodite started an annoying monotone: screaming. She screamed and screamed and screamed. Most of the deities present clapped their hands over their ears and cried, "Make her shut up!"

"Silence!" Kronos yelled over the entire din. Aphrodite fell quiet. "Let us leave her here, for now, while we find a place for everybody else."

Aphrodite was too tired to argue. The Titans and gods present left her to struggle against the burden. Kronos lead the gods to a room deep below the ground, below the twisting passageways that made up Mount Othrys. There were celestial bronze chains attached to the walls. A film of darkness hung over them, as if they were blanketed in shadow.

Artemis shuddered at the sight. "You fool," she said to Kronos, who appeared to be regenerating. "You will be deposed once more. Just you wait."

"I think not, Huntress." He said. "I shall have no more children. I have seen the risk. No one will threaten me again." He giggled, and seemed to notice what he was doing.

Atlas twitched. "She is failing, my lord." He said to Kronos. "We need another."

Kronos frowned. "Already?"

"Yes," Atlas said. "I know these things."

"Fine," Kronos said. "The huntress shall take the burden."

And Artemis took the burden. Things went like this for all eternity. The Olympians all took their separate burdens, all over the earth. Zeus was left to hold the sky. The original demigods were gathered up and exterminated. A new generation of half-bloods rose up: cruel, selfish beings who did the bidding of their fathers.

Yet, there were no more gods. Kronos, as well as the other Titans, kept their word. No minor gods were allowed consorting with each other, either. No living thing truly thrived under Kronos' rule, and the status of society declined. Soon, people used slang so much that they were not understandable, trees were cut down to the point of extinction, and many other terrible things happened.

Kronos just sat up at Othrys, drinking wine. Dionysus was forced to be his cupbearer, but he wasn't happy about it. Oceanus ran around sinking ships for fun and causing tsunamis that wrecked the coastlines of many countries. The humans, once the Titans were back in power, made no more technological advancements. Every time a human was on to something, Kronos would cut him down personally.

The poor became poorer. The rich became richer. Kronos had a tendency to favor cruel, heartless businessmen with no conscience.

There was one abomination that wrecked the world. Kronos banned fanfiction. He struck down all the authors with newly acquired lightning bolts, and allowed no creativity in his regime.

Civilization soon collapsed. Not that Kronos cared. He preferred random warring tribes to a central civilization anyway.

Kronos lived happily ever after. The end.

**If you're drowning in your own tears, then good. If you're laughing nervously through your tears, then good. This last chapter has served its purpose well. The circle is now complete. Sort of. Give me your thoughts, anything. If you're trying to kill me, don't say I didn't warn you about the depressing nature of this chapter. **


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